Equivalence in Distant Memories
by CrazyNinjaPenguin
Summary: Returning to visit the Rukongai slums, Rukia finds her life threatened by street rogues until she is rescued by Kukaku. In the proceeding days the two women find their friendship advancing in the face of memories they share. Kukaku X Rukia. Yuri. complete
1. Painful Memories

A/N: Hmm, well it's been a while since I last wrote one of these. I have to say it took a lot of effort to finally convince myself that I needed to sit down ad write this thing. Anyways, if you read the summary like you should have, you should know that the pairing this time around is Kukaku X Rukia. This isn't a very typical pairing, in fact, I don't think I've ever seen it before, but I've always been one for experimental pairings, and I hope I can make something interesting with this. Anyways, if you're just not getting it, let me just spill it out for you, Kukaku and Rukia are both women, this is a yuri pairing; what's more this is an M rated fic so things are free to get pretty graphic between them if you know what I mean. In other words don't read this fic if you have any problems with stuff like that. Oh and this first chapter is also a little violent. Hope no one minds.

Disclaimer: Your mom owns Bleach... (but only provided that your mom is Tite Kubo).

The girl let out a heavy sigh into the tranquil night sky as she walked slowly down the street. It was still summer yet the air around her was unsettlingly cool. The ground beneath her feet was still damp and slippery from the heavy rains of the preceding day. The way the rain residue reflected off the warped carpentry of the run-down buildings at the girl's either side forced her into even deeper thought.

The girl had to wonder why she had come to this place in the first place, why she had returned to these sad, miserable empty streets. She hadn't had any real reason. It had just been that being placed in a cell at wait for an executioner's call has a way of unearthing thoughts in one's mind. It was in that thought that the girl realized she had never looked back, she had never once returned to this place since the day she left it behind.

It was hard for her to believe that all that separated this place and the other like untamed districts, with their broken windows and crumbling roofs, from the pristine beauty of the Seireitei with which she had become accustomed was a single wall. It made her wonder about the world she lived in. Soul Society was supposed to be a paradise, a place of peace and happiness, a place where the departed spirits of humans could find a comfortable home. Yet the shattering level of inequality in the comfort of this place, South Rukongai District 78 and the sprawling home of the noble Kuchiki clan, had begun to lay a shadow of doubt over the girl's thoughts.

It always made her uneasy when she thought about her past life here. It brought back memories. Some were of sadness, of pain, of desperation. She had seen great loss and grief, so much that it consumed her. Some of her memories, however, were happy ones. Her childhood, her friends, her successful struggle to make something of herself, to leave this all behind. These particular memories gave her hope, because after all, this was Rukia's first home.

"My my, what 'ave we got 'ere?" A man's voice came to Rukia's ears as she walked causing her to stop instantly in her tracks. A rough, ugly looking older man wearing a violent scowl emerged from a run-down alley.

"Huh? Oh, I see. A pretty one, nice and young, with not too much dirt on her. She's all alone too. You've got a good eye there, boss. I bet we can sure have a good ol' time with this little bitch." Said another man, this one younger, with a higher voice as he emerged from behind the other.

"No, open yer eyes ya damn fool! Can't ya see this 'un 'ere is worth a 'elluva a lot more than jus' that." The first man said in a disgusting way, scoffing at his companion.

Rukia got a sudden urge to run away from the two approaching men, sensing that they could mean only trouble. She turned to run away, only to find her progress impeded by a third, rather large man, "And why is that, boss?" said this third man in a slow voice as Rukia backed away from him, finding herself surrounded by the three.

"'Eh, I guess I can 'nly expect ya two to be clueless. It really 'elps business to know what's goin' on in the world 'round us. When's the last time one of you worthless little shits actually went and stole one of them papers." The first man, who was apparently the leader of the group spoke harshly to the other two.

"You know I can't read, boss." The third man, the great large one, said with a dismissive laugh.

"Readin' ain't even needed, you damned idiut! One flip through them papers be enough to see this bitch's little picture on all them pages." The boss scolded his subordinate viciously.

"So this girl's someone important than, boss?" The second man, the young one with the high voice, asked in anticipation.

"This bitch 'ere is _miss_ Rukia Kuchiki, _noble princess_ of the _great, important_ Kuchiki family." The man explained with a cold-blooded smile as he encircled a frightened Rukia, his words were bitingly sarcastic, so much so that their bitterness chilled Rukia to the bone.

"Well, I'll be damned! You aint shittin us, are you boss? This girl we have here, she's an honest to goodness living breathing Kuchiki!?" The second man said overcome with a cruel excitement.

"I do believe so. Ain't that right ya little whore?" The man finally addressed Rukia to her face. Face to face Rukia felt further contempt for this man, he was scarred and gnarled, missing several teeth, and had simply rancid breath. He was scum of the worst kind.

"And what if it is?!" Rukia shot of in a fiery way as she pushed the man back. She began to wish she had her zanpakuto with her. She had recently regained her ability to use it after giving her powers to Ichigo, yet she had felt it unwise to venture into the Rukongai in full shinigami attire with it in hand, lest she be recognized. At this moment that decision seemed rather stupid to her.

"Well, actually whether yer Rukia Kuchiki or ain't ya isn't gonna change a 'elluva lot. All it's gonna change is jus' 'ow satisfied we are with ourselves when we're through with ya." The man replied callously cracking an even wider smile as if he enjoyed seeing them struggle.

"And what is it, may I ask, you are planning to do to me?" Rukia asked in a tough way trying her best to keep a strong face and good distance from all three men.

"Well that's simple really. We're gonna beat you to a bloody pulp, then we're gonna rape you senseless until all three of us is good and satisfied, and then we're gonna fucking kill you and leave you here in the middle of the fucking street." The younger man explained their plan with an excited laugh Rukia turned around completely to run away, only to find the large man once more obstructing her path.

"Are you three foolish enough to think you can take on an actual shinigami?" Rukia shouted defensively even though she realized it was little more than a bluff at this point.

"Heh, shinigami! I see no shinigami. Ya ain't in one of them black robes and ya ain't got one of them fancy swords. All I see right now is a 'elpless little Kuchiki whore, a little girl surrounded by three much bigger men, who's about to die. I'm sure that'll make _big brother's _day when 'e finds out." The leader of the group replied as coldly as ever as Rukia looked helplessly for a way out. He gave a cryptic nod to his two henchmen.

Then it started, the large man made the first blow, his giant fist come crashing hard into Rukia's back causing her to dislodge blood from her throat.. The young man attacked next, delivering a fierce kick to the side of Rukia's head making her fall to the floor. She struggled to get up off the floor. When she did, she found that he lead man had drawn from his pocket, a short, dull silver knife.

Now Rukia was being barraged with cuts and stabs as well as punches and kicks. Her body ached under the bruises. Blood gushed from the knife wounds she had received to her shoulder, thigh, back and stomach. She was beginning to feel faint. She couldn't take anymore. Another hard kick sent her back to the ground and this time she didn't even try to get up.

Rukia felt as one of the men's hands grabbed at her blood drenched robe, tearing it off forcefully. Another man proceeded to rip off her undergarments. Rukia couldn't fight anymore. These were to be her final memories. She had already once, only too recently, resigned herself to accept death. Yet now she found herself doing so once again.

As Rukia saw it, these men had a right to hate her. After all, in truth, she was no more Kuchiki than any one of them. She had roamed these streets once too as little more than a common thief. What right did she have to be accepted in that far off world of luxury when so many others never would? She could accept this death.

Moments passed and Rukia began to feel that something was amiss. She had been beaten savagely and stripped naked, yet she felt no new pain during this time that passed, no foreign feeling between her legs, nothing. Her wounds had dulled her senses greatly but Rukia found herself compelled to find what had occurred. She focused her hardest and sound began to return to her pained ears; her bruised eyes managed to open ever so slightly.

It was a good thing Rukia recovered her senses when she did, because one of the first sights she saw was the figure of her largest assailant crashing to the ground just next to her, unconscious. She felt pain as she moved her body slightly to avoid impact with the large man. Only seconds later the other henchman came crashing down to the ground as well, this time a safe distance from Rukia. Her vision was still way too blurry to tell her anything about what was happening, but Rukia could tell now that she was being saved.

The next sounds Rukia heard were that of metal clinking against metal, a man crying out in terrible pain, and then metal hitting against the cold ground. Then there was a man's voice, "S-Shiba, how dare you? What right ya got to come here and stop us from 'avin' our fun?!"

Rukia's heart leapt as she prayed her hearings still wasn't off. Shiba was the surname of the only man to ever truly capture her heart. It was the name of her Kaien. The joy the name brought lasted only briefly, however, for Rukia found herself reminded of one simple, sad fact. Kaien Shiba couldn't be rescuing her; Kaien Shiba was long dead.

"What, so we've sunk so low someone actually needs an excuse to save a girl from being raped by scumbags now?" Came a familiar, female voice in a cool, strong tone. This woman and the man were both completely out of Rukia's range of sight.

"That's right Shiba! This sorta thing 'appens every goddamn day 'ere in the Rukongai slums, girls get raped and disappear and there ain't nuthin' you can do to save em all. You got no right to do what you jus' did ta me!" The man seemed downright infuriated and though Rukia couldn't tell for sure it sounded as if he was crying.

"I've got plenty_right._ This _girl_ happens to be a friend." The Shiba woman spat venomously.

"Yer days as a noble are through, Shiba. Ya don't owe fucks like 'er a goddamn thing. Ya should jus' leave the lot of em behind jus' like they did you and yer clan." The man yelled hatefully.

"Just shut up already. This isn't even about crap like that. I didn't really even know Rukia back then. Me and her became friends much more recently than that." The woman said in a rough voice as if she had grown tired of talking to this man.

"Whether she's a friend of yers or ain't she really ain't a concern of ours. If a noble type like 'er comes strollin' through our streets we jus' ain't gonna be able to resist 'avin' us a little fun." The man still had a pained biting to his words.

"Well it just so happens, Rukia here was on her way to meet _me_, she was to be_my_ guest, and that sir, is why _you_ are now short one hand." The woman said in a smart tone. Rukia felt an urge to laugh, this woman was lying, Rukia in fact had been on her way to see no one, but this woman still managed such a cool.

"Damn you bitch, I swear I'll get you for this!" The man shouted at the woman, he was beyond infuriated now.

"Fine by me, do as you please. I think I'll take her home and see if I can't undo all the damage you've done, now." The woman said in a carefree way.

Rukia heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Moments later the figure of Kukaku Shiba had appeared in her line of sight. Kukaku offered a friendly smile as she outstretched her arm ad wrapped it around Rukia's bruised and bleeding form where she lay. Rukia found herself draped across Kukaku's shoulder as that woman began to walk away from the scene.

Rukia studied her three assailants as they disappeared from her sight. The large man lie lateral across the street, the imprint of Kukaku's shoe clearly visible across his face. The younger man was clearly unconscious, the entire right side of his face inflamed with bruises. The thug boss was on his knees, clutching his bloody right wrist, from which Rukia noticed his entire hand had been completely severed. This man caught Rukia's stare and returned it with a horrible glare that caused Rukia to shiver.

Rukia's head was still light from the impacts, so she remembered little of the time she spent draped across the other woman's shoulder. Her next moment of consciousness, Rukia saw herself being bandaged by the Shiba woman. Kukaku was managing to wrap her wounds quite effectively, much to Rukia's surprise.

"So you're awake?" Kukaku said with her mouth still shut, clutching tightly to some bandaging, the other end of the bandage was in Kukaku's solitary hand which had begun to wrap it around the knife wound at Rukia's thigh.

"Yeah..." Rukia said as she braced for some pain, feeling the bandage raw against her wound.

"That's good. I almost got you cleaned up here. These wounds shouldn't be too serious in the end; shinigami heal quickly." Kukaku said, bending forward to tie the bandage, to Rukia's surprise never pressing against the wound.

"Yeah I had thought that was the end..." Rukia gave a short sigh, she didn't even know whether it was a sigh of relief or not.

"Trust me, if you weren't damn lucky tonight it would have been." Kukaku said coldly.

"Yeah..." Rukia said simply.

"'Yeah?' Is that all you can say?" Kukaku said raising her tone.

"Huh?" Rukia grunted nonchalantly. She soon found the back of Kukaku's hard against the back of her skull.

"Hey! What was that for?! Why did you hit me while I was injured!?" Rukia raised her own voice into a yell, shaking her own fist at the other woman.

"Simply because, as of tonight you now top that dead idiot brother of mine as the stupidest shinigami I've ever known." Kukaku shouted forcefully, offering Rukia an angry glare.

"How dare you talk about Kaien like that! He was a great man!" Rukia shouted back, peculiarly deciding to defend this other rather than herself.

"I know that! That doesn't change the fact that, as you would know, that idiot went and got himself killed!" Kukaku explained in a still raised voice.

"Hey! I thought you said you wouldn't hold any of that against me anymore!" Rukia also continued to yell.

"Well this isn't even about that! This is about you being an idiot!" Kukaku replied in a forceful bellow. She tapped Rukia lightly with her fist in the same spot she had previously hit.

"Yeah... well... I'm sorry..." Rukia said searchingly, her eyes filled with doubt.

"What kind of brainless shinigami decides to go off and walk the streets of the Inuzuri district at night without her zanpakuto?!" Kukaku scolded; Rukia began to feel really, really dumb.

"I'm originally from there. I thought that I knew the area well enough and that it I was faced with danger I could protect myself with my kido." Rukia explained her reasoning, she already was anticipating a response.

"A good kido technique can do a lot for you, but when you're surrounded on all sides by ruthless thugs with knives who want to see you dead something fancy like that isn't going to do you a lot of good." Kukaku argued smartly, Rukia gave an understanding nod.

"And even if you say you know the place, I fail to understand why you would want to go there in the first place." Kukaku continued, raising her voice slightly once more.

"I realized I hadn't been back there since the day I left for Seireitei. I wanted to see it at least one more time, just in case..." Rukia said fully expecting another reprimand. She doubted this notion made much sense to anyone who had never spent a month of their life locked away awaiting their inevitable death. Most people who got the opportunity to leave a place like South Rukongai 78 would give anything never to return. Rukia braced herself for Kukaku to call her an idiot once more.

"That makes sense to me. Memories can be worth a lot. Still I wouldn't say their worth your life. Next time you do something stupid make sure you bring your zanpakuto just in case." Kukaku offered another light tap to the other girl's head as she got to her feet, and made for the door, leaving Rukia to lie in bed.

As the door opened so Kukaku could make her exit Rukia called out to the other, "Kukaku, wait!"

Kukaku turned in the doorway to look at the girl lying bandaged in one of her beds, "Yeah, what is it?"

"Thank you." Rukia said simply, in a low uneven voice as she slumped into the bed, it was rather clear that her body was very tired.

"No problem." Kukaku said with a faint smile as she turned and walked out the door.

A/N: Well this chapter was certainly intense. I think it makes for a nice start but I suppose that remains to be seen. Rukia X Kukaku really is an odd pairing. As I said before I don't think I've ever seen it before. It's quite easy to infer romantic feelings of Rukia for Kaien, yet that never is really transferred to his siblings. With Ganju, perhaps the most under-appreciated and ignored character in Bleach, I assume this is probably due to his complete lack of popularity and less than desirable physical appearance. With Kukaku I think the only thing in the way is the yuri component which certainly doesn't get in my way. In case you didn't place it this fic takes place after the Soul Society arc but before the arrancar arc. Also, I'm finding it interesting writing a character with one arm in a lead role; makes me have to think about actions in scenes a little more. Oh, and on that subject, I doubt I'm really gonna mention it too much, so feel free to imagine Kukaku as you wish, either with or without the prosthetic arm from the anime; personally I think she's hot either way. Anyways, tell me what you think (not specifically about Kukaku's hotness but just about this fic in general). I think it will all be good.

Now I think I should say something on the poll that's been on my profile the last few weeks. I asked you all what Naruto pairings I haven't done are still interesting and then left the poll there for several weeks. I got a total of 50(!) freakin' voters! Apparently you guys till are interested in the Naruto; unfortunately for you though this doesn't mane I've lost interest in Bleach fics, this was just an opinion poll and I'm not going to do any of the pairs from it anytime soon. That being said let me briefly talk about results. 2 out of every 5 of you want me to write a Temari X Sakura story. I never really realized that was such a great or popular pairing, but apparently you all are excited about it... The highest vote getters after that were two fics featuring Hinata (who's name for some reason I couldn't seem to spell right during that poll...) Hinata with her sister I expected to be pretty popular even if it is a bit of a strange pairing, Hinata with Anko on the other hand took me for one. I suppose it's the opposite personality thing. Tenten X Ino got a lot of votes surprising me as well, since I really don't see much basis for a pairing there. Shizune X Sakura And Tsunade X Kurenai also both did really well (the latter of which seems rather hot to me after accidentally imagining it sometimes while reading Kyouger's fic...). What didn't get good results was Yugao Uzuki. She's pretty hot so I'm guessing everyone just has no idea who she is. Instead of putting "Temari X Yugao Uzuki" as a choice maybe I should have put "Temari X That one purple haired ANBU chick who was the girlfriend of the proctor of the third stage of the Chunin exam, you know that guy who coughed all the time who was killed by that one dude form the Sand village." Also the Inuzuka women didn't do as well as I figured they would. Hana X Hinata got a respectable amount of votes but Hana X Ino didn't have much support and neither did Tsume X Kurenai even though it would be hilarious (just picture how Kiba would react to that... though I suppose he wouldn't be too thrilled about Hana X Hinata either). As for the other low vote getter, Kurenai X Ino, that pair really doesn't make a damn bit of sense, I'm kinda surprised 6 people actually voted for that one... Anyways then current poll is really the same idea except with Bleach pairs (which means it's results are more immediate) and since I'm back to my updating it won't have as much time to collect votes. So vote while you still can.


	2. Guilty Memories

A/N: Glad you guys are enjoying it so far. For those of you who questioned the believability of the first bit and thought that Rukia would have fared better in that situation, you should realize that Rukia was completely surrounded with at least one of the men behind her at all times. If she were to try anything she would be attacked at once. People aren't as slow and stupid as hollows. That being said I probably should have written her as at least trying something before they all jumped her. Anyways, this is chapter 2.

Disclaimer: I do not own the world... or Bleach... or anything anyone would even care about.

It was well into the afternoon when Rukia Kuchiki next found herself awake. A healthy yawn escaped her wide open mouth as she sat upright in a foreign bed. Her body still ached with pain from the previous night's wounds, yet this was a more subtle subdued sort of pain; she could tell her wounds had already mostly healed.

With much effort Rukia removed herself from the bed, finding her body to be quite heavy as she took several steps forward. Kukaku, it seemed had taken the time to dress her in a warm, thick robe, that was noticeably several sizes too large for the Kuchiki girl. Rukia surmised that any clothes she obtained from Kukaku would have the same problem for her.

With a degree of effort for each step she took, Rukia walked in the direction of the door to her room. Opening it she found a rather large, steep staircase. This didn't really surprise Rukia, as having been to this house on one other occasion she already knew fairly well of its bizarre layout. The oversized basements, the truly strange outside appearance, it all made for a unique environment.

As she began to achingly climb the stairs toward the ground level of the Shiba home Rukia began to wonder. How was it that Kukaku was able to transport her the full distance between South district 78 and this place and then down all these stairs in one night with her handicap? No matter how she looked at it Rukia couldn't find an answer. Her thoughts then turned elsewhere as she finally reached the top of the staircase and opened the door.

Rukia emerged into a room full of life. It was filled with not just Kukaku, but her brother Ganju as well, Ganju's large pet boar Bonnie, and also the two loyal Shiba family servants Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko.

Ganju took immediate notice of Rukia's emergence, saying in a a somewhat surprised tone, "Rukia! What's Rukia doing in our basement?!"

"Huh. Eh, I don't know." Kukaku answered her brother's question in a nonchalant manner.

"What do you mean you don't know!? You're the one who brought me down there!" Rukia shouted in disbelief.

"Really? Now why'd I go and do that?" Kukaku said, playing ignorant.

"Don't you remember... you saved me..." Rukia said in a slow yet still intense way.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, but you can't expect me to remember every time I stick my neck out to protect a shinigami from her own stupidity." Kukaku said in a harsh way causing Rukia to give her a scowl.

"So you're the one who put Rukia in our basement, sis." Ganju said with a still somewhat lost expression.

"Yeah. I guess so." Kukaku sighed. Her mouth slowly formed a smile before she asked, "So, your injuries any better today?"

"Injuries? What exactly happened, sis?!" Ganju asked, again confused.

"Nothing that concerns morons like you." Kukaku growled fiercely, shooting her brother an angry look.

"There's still some pain, but I think they're healing up nicely." Rukia explained, moving her afflicted parts to test as she did so.

"That's good." Kukaku said with a slight grin. Then abruptly she asked, "You hungry?"

Considering that people in Soul Society never truly got hungry this was a rather odd question to ask. However, Rukia had since entering this room noticed a strong, pleasant smell lingering in the air around her. Maybe she didn't need food, but after last night she'd take anything to restore her happiness.

"I guess so." Rukia said in a low tone. Kukaku motioned for her to take up a seat on the floor next to Ganju while she went over to a large pot.. She returned to present Rukia with a good sized bowl of stew. Tasting it Rukia found it to be quite good; it had a strong robust flavor, and was full of meat and vegetables. She ate it happily.

"Good, isn't it?"Kukaku asked with a short proud laugh.

"Oh yes, it's very good, Kukaku." Rukia replied, smiling.

"Yeah, sis sure can make some good food, huh? I mean, look how much my little Bonnie loves it!" Ganju said with an exuberant nod. Rukia took direction, finding that the large boar on the other side of Ganju had her snout buried in a bowl of the same stew Rukia was eating. Rukia decided a single bowl would be enough.

"So anyway, you think you're up for a walk, Rukia?" Kukaku asked suddenly as Rukia stood and placed her empty bowl on a nearby counter.

"I'm not so sure I should really be moving around in my condition..." Rukia said smartly, a little perplexed at the suggestion.

"It'll just be a simple walk. I'm sure a little exercise will actually help you return to your normal self faster." Kukaku argued in an insistent fashion as she motioned for the other to follow her out the door.

"Where you goin, sis?" Ganju asked as he observed the two women move toward the door.

"I'm just going out to do a little restocking real quick." Kukaku said simply, Ganju seemed to understand. The two Shiba guardsmen got to their feet to accompany their mistress in her leave but she dissuaded them with a simple shake of her head. Slowly the two women made their way out of the Shiba home. Rukia smiled upon looking back at the house's truly unique exterior.

"So where are we actually going, Kukaku?" Rukia asked, still greatly lost from being suddenly dragged outside.

"Inuzuri district." Kukaku said simply, with a devious smile.

"What!? What the hell would make you think I would wan to go back _there_?!" Rukia shouted in protest, completely taken aback by this revelation.

"I figured it'd be the better alternative for you. Better than just leaving you back at the house " Kukaku said i a somewhat sad fashion that served to calm the other.

"What do you mean?" Rukia asked softly.

"Ganju was still pretty young when it happened. It's harder for him to forgive, and I'm not sure he has completely yet." Kukaku said somberly, Rukia felt the incredible tinge of guilt pulse through her body that typically occurred when she thought of Kaien and what had happened so many years back. Kukaku's voice took a lighter tone as she continued, "Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko are exceptionally loyal but they're really pretty strange guys. And that pig really isn't the greatest conversationalist either. I figured you'd enjoy my company the best."

"Well you know I could have just went straight home." Rukia said in an insistent manner.

"And tell that big brother of yours the reason your body is covered in bandages?" Kukaku added with a short laugh. Rukia blushed, realizing that the other woman was very right, there was no way she could risk Byakuya learning about what had happened the previous night.

"I suppose you have a point. Still I don't see why we would be going back _there _after what happened last night." Rukia said in a pointed fashion.

"You have to have figured that one out! Come on, you don't honestly believe the only reason I was down there in Inuzuri last night was to save your ass." Kukaku said harshly with a short laugh. Rukia blushed yet again, she had never even considered the possibility that Kukaku had had her ow reasons for being there last night.

"So what were you doing down _there_ last night?" Rukia asked, now immensely curious.

"I have a dealer who works out of Inuzuri." Kukaku answered, not noticing the look of further confusion the answer placed on Rukia's face.

"_Dealer_?! Just _what_ are you involved in, Kukaku?!" Rukia near-shouted. Kukaku couldn't help but laugh.

"I can't do it all with just Kido tricks, you know. To put on a real fireworks show you need plenty of the genuine article. This guy in Inuzuri is one of the few guys in all 320 districts of the Rukongai able to stock me with all the powders and plastics I need to put on the light shows I'm famous for. He buys most of his stuff off a shinigami friend who sneaks the stuff back from the human world. " Kukaku explained in a simple way.

"Oh, I see." Rukia said with a smug look. She gave a short laugh before saying in a somewhat sarcastic way, "And do you typically meet with this guy in the dead of the night?"

"I go whenever I have time." The fireworks expert answered in a casual way.

"So what, it's stupid for me to go down there all alone at night and yet for you it's fine?!" The shinigami yelled in indignation.

"Yeah pretty much." Kukaku said with a cool laugh.

"And why the hell is that?!" Rukia demanded an explanation.

"You're soft, you're unarmed, and you're a target." Kukaku sighed a response.

"What do you mean soft?! I can kick some serious ass if I have to!" Rukia said roughly, in defense.

"Yeah, you learned the attitude it seems, from the time you spent down here. But I wager it's been a while since you've had to put it to use. Being a pampered member of the Kuchiki family isn't the best thing for your instincts." Kukaku said in a light way, shaking her head slightly at the other.

"Hmph, I doubt that. And what is it that makes me a 'target' anyway?"Rukia still held a degree of anger to her words.

"That one should be obvious. People who fail are naturally inclined to feel animosity towards those who succeed. Scum like that are the ultimate examples of failure, whereas you, Rukia, are a prime example of success." Kukaku continued to seem unaffected by the angry glares the other was shooting her with.

"You really think so?" Rukia said, somewhat intrigued.

"Yeah. You, escaped the hell of lower Rukongai and became a shinigami. Not only that but you found yourself adopted right into one of the powerful noble clans. It shouldn't really come as much of a surprise that people around here would detest you." Kukaku said with a laugh, they had been walking for some time, and had now penetrated the deeper, more impoverished sections of the Rukongai. Rukia noticed many of the citizens were glaring at her horribly.

"But they accept you?" Rukia said softy, now feeling somewhat uneasy.

"My situation's really opposite to yours. I lived a luxurious noble's life in the Seireitei then lost it all. Trust me, what you see in hatred, I get in pity." Kukaku shook her head as she looked down at the ground where they walked, she was obviously thinking about something intently.

"But still, don't you think a good portion of the dangerous people around here could care less what a women's social standing is when they see her walking alone at night." Rukia resumed in arguing the danger Kukaku faced.

"Yeah, that's a good point. Still, cute, innocent looking girls like you are more popular with creeps like that anyways." Kukaku said coolly.

"What exactly makes me look 'innocent'?!"Rukia said with an angry glare. Not waiting for a response, she then commented, "And I would think a woman as beautiful as you are would at least face some danger."

"Heh, 'beautiful'. That's nice of you to say. But seriously, no matter how big my chest is, I'm not the type scum like that stalk. I'm a bit rough for them, and a lot would find the lack of limb unsettling." Kukaku said in a realistic way. Rukia gave a slight blush.

"I guess you win. Just make sure you're careful when you're down here all alone." Rukia decided to finally acquiesce.

"Don't worry. I can take care of myself pretty good." Kukaku said offering a smug expression. Silence perforated the air between them for a good while before Kukaku found it fit to speak once more, "So the area start to look familiar yet?"

"Yeah, this is district 78 alright." Rukia said as she looked around at the streets she had one time called a home.

Seeing these streets in the light of day, made Rukia remember the reason she had come to Rukongai the previous night. Suddenly her thoughts were filled with the faces of childhood friends long forgotten. She remembered the streets, the buildings, the trees, everything. She remembered all the hard but not entirely unpleasant days spent in this place with Renji and her other friends. A smile crept onto her face.

"Aren't many who smile when they stare at the rundown streets of the Inuzuri district." Kukaku gave a soft laugh as she followed the others eyes.

"I know. But part of me still thinks of this place as home." Rukia said in a far-off way.

"I suppose memories can be odd like that. No matter how much something seems to annoy you while their around, after it's gone you can't help but miss it." Kukaku sighed once more.

"I find it hard to believe that someone like you would miss the boring life of a noble in Seireitei, Kukaku." The Kuchiki girl said in return.

"Ha, maybe Rukongai does suit me better. That doesn't change the fact that part of me is still nostalgic for that boring, monotonous life I used to have, just as part of me yearns for everything I have ever lost." Kukaku said in a deeply reflective way.

Rukia had been enjoying her conversation with Kukaku. Despite her rough outward appearance, this woman was someone very easy to talk to, and also very interesting. She was one of the few people around who had seen everything Rukia had. Still, when she heard this woman talk of loss, she couldn't help but feel a terrible pang of guilt ache deep in her heart.

"I'm sorry." Rukia said simply, softly, and shyly. Her eyes were averted toward the ground. She had stopped walking.

"You've apologized already once. Doing it any more than that just makes you seem stupid." Kukaku said in a blunt way; surprisingly Rukia didn't recoil with anger.

"It's just that... if I hadn't.. then he might..." Rukia started shaking where she stood. She felt terrible.

"Just stop it. It's over. He's gone now. It wasn't your fault anyways." Kukaku said in a solemn way. It was less than comforting for the other.

"We've been talking all this time like nothing ever happened, but deep down I know you really must hate me..." Rukia said in a miserable way, a tear running down her cheek.

"If I hated you so much, I could have let you get raped and killed last night instead of saving you and tending to you." Kukaku still kept her cool even though the other had become emotional. Rukia eventually began to calm down. Kukaku smiled at the other as she addressed her further, "And I know it wasn't your fault. In fact you've probably suffered for it just as much as I have, if not more."

"He was _your_ brother." Rukia protested softly. The two began to walk forward once more.

"Yeah, and what's that mean? I mean, how close are you and _your_ brother?" Kukaku laughed as she posed this question.

"Well... um... I-I... we are..." Rukia struggled for an answer, giving a soft blush.

"Kaien was a great guy to hang around with. He let me do as I pleased, and was always real fun. He was a pretty irresponsible clan head though. He was easily more proud to be the lieutenant of the 13th squad than he was to be the head of the Shiba family." Kukaku gave an off grin as she spoke.

"I seriously doubt that..." Rukia said uncertainly. Remembering Kaien had always been painful for her, but at this moment she wanted to remember more than anything.

"Before he died, I remember that all he would talk about was you guys. Miyako obviously, but the other members of the 13th division as well. Particularly he would talk about Captain Ukitake and a certain bright girl from the Kuchiki clan who he enjoyed training." The Shiba woman said in a warm way.

"I doubt he really said much about me." Rukia fought the idea though she smiled brghtly.

"No, he talked at lengths about you. He enjoyed training you. He thought you had what it takes, that you were really going to go places. Kaien was proud of you, Rukia." Kukaku herself smiled as she said this, as if she knew herself what she was making the other feel.

Rukia felt another pang run through her heart, and once more she felt like crying. None of this was from guilt or sadness though, but instead from her happiness at learning that one she had admired so greatly truly thought of her. A tear did escape her eyes as she muttered in softened words, "Thank you... Thank you for telling me that, Kukaku."

"No problem." Kukaku laughed.

Silence reemerged to fill the air between the two women as they walked. Rukia felt as her head once more filled with nostalgic memories. These were not the same memories as before though, they were not of Renji and the Inuzuri streets but rather of squad 13 and Kaien. They were pleasant memories, all of them filled with laughter, all of them filled with such intoxicating warmth.

"This is the place, Rukia." Kukaku attempted to call the other out of her daydream. They had arrived at their destination.

"Yes Lieutenant Shiba!" Rukia said in a dutiful fashion, hearing the words but not managing to escape her preoccupation.

"Eh, Rukia, I've never been a lieutenant... of anything before." Kukaku said, laughing at the other's daydream induced mistake.

Rukia blushed a deep red as she realized what she had just done, In a meek way she explained what needed no explanation, "I was just thinking about Kaien, and I just... thought you were him for a second..."

"Even though were related I'm pretty sure that's the first time anyone's confused me for my brother." Kukaku laughed even harder.

"Sorry." Rukia continued to blush.

"Anyways, let's get this over with." Kukaku said, walking up to the door of the particularly run down looking shack she had pointed out as being the home of the explosives dealer.

Kukaku knocked at the front door and waited. Roughly a minute passed an no one came to the door. She knocked again, yet there was still silence. Worry spread across the Shiba woman's face as she gave a third knock, this time she called out to the man who should be inside, "Hey Kozu, you in there?" No answer came.

"Maybe he isn't in right now." Rukia suggested as she listened through the silence.

"No, Kozu isn't the type to leave his shop unattended like this. It's unnatural. Somethings going on here." Kukaku seemed worried as she looked the door up and down. Rukia noticed that the lock on the door was broken.

"Let's go in to check then." Rukia said, Kukaku nodded as she opened the door.

"Kozu?! You in here?!" Kukaku called out as she walked though the dark room. Looking around Rukia noticed that the place was thoroughly damaged. Rukia had never been here before but she could tell everything was out of place. As they continued to the back of the shop the two women began to hear the sound of muffled breathing.

"Kozu!" Kukaku called out as she rushed toward the man. The explosives dealer lay in the far corner of the shop, buried under several broken planks of wood. He was bruised all over, and bleeding from a gash at the top of his head. He was an old man, bald, with a short gray beard. He was shaking as he struggled to breathe. Kuaku worked to free him.

"Kozu, what in the heck happened to you?!" Kukaku asked frantically as she sat her old friend up, examining his wounds.

"Oh Miss Shiba, thank heavens you showed up. I thought I was a goner." The old man had relief deep in his eyes as he looked up at the woman. His voice seemed somewhat faint.

"Who did this to you, Kozu?" Kukaku asked in a softer way.

"It was group of hooligans. There were three of 'em at least. They busted in here in the dead of the night and started messin' the shop up. I went to grab one of m' guns so I could get 'em good, but they got me surrounded and beat me senseless. Then they ran off with half of my most recent shipment " Kozu told his story, he seemed quite angry.

"What did they take?" Kukaku posed a new question.

"Some serious stuff. Nothing you'd want to put in fireworks, that's for sure." The old man replied, gritting his teeth.

"This is why I keep tellin' you you should move to a safer part of town." Kukaku said under her breath.

"This place has been my home for years, Miss Shiba. I'm not about to just move away. Besides it's not like this attack was exactly random." The man had a gnarled harshness to his words.

"What do you mean?!" Kukaku asked at once.

"Those bastards left a message for you, Miss Shiba." Kozu answered solemnly.

"For me...? Just what did they say?" Kukaku seemed as serious as Rukia had ever seen her at this point.

"They told me that they was after revenge on you.." Kozu said with a short, serious laugh.

"Then I'm sorry Kozu, it looks like it was my fault this happened to you." Kukaku said in a morose fashion, closing her eyes in thought.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Miss. With the years of patronage you've shown me, I figure you're worth a good beatin' or two." The man said lightly, Kukaku didn't seem satisfied.

"You don't think it was the men from last night, do you Kukaku?" Rukia felt obliged to speak now. She felt bad to know she was now involved in this.

"I'm certain it is." Kukaku said at once, smiling very faintly.

"That man, he probably knew all about your connections to this place and went here right as soon as he and his subordinates were able. It was a mistake of you to go so far as to cut off his hand." Rukia seemed anxious over the less than ideal situation.

"I was thinking I didn't go far enough with that creep. With what he was about to do to you, I'm thinking there was something of his I probably should have cut off before his hand." Kukaku replied in an almost carefree fashion, though it was obvious from her expression that she did have her worries.

"Please, be serious Miss Shiba. Those men could be right dangerous with the stuff they took form here, and they said they was after you." Kozu said in a worried voice.

"Those men will probably come after me again. But I'm not going to worry too much. I'll deal with things as they happen. I have other things I need to accomplish this week." Kukaku said reflectively, she ended on a sigh.

"I'll protect you." Rukia found herself saying.

"Wha?" Kukaku seemed taken aback by the other's statement.

"I'll return to Seireitei and get my zanpakuto. Then I'll come back here and watch over you until the threat has been eliminated. It's the least I can do to repay you for saving me last night." Rukia explained a deadly serious way. Kukaku gave a soft laugh at the girl's words.

"I'm not about to tell you no, Rukia. But I don't think you need to go so far. I can take care of this mess on my own. Even if they got high powered explosives, those guys are still nothing but a pack of low-life morons." Kukaku gave a warm grin as she said this.

"Even still I would feel better if I stayed with you through tis. It's my fault, after all that you got involved with them in the first place." Rukia said with finality.

"Alright." Kukaku agreed with a nod. She then turned to the injured explosives dealer, "Kozu, you still got all the stuff I put on order."

"Oh yes, the restock for the festival Friday, everything you said is in a bag right over there." The old man, who still was unable to stand pointed in the direction of the merchandise, Kukaku spied a small sack and went to retrieve it. She then handed the man his pay.

"Okay, now that the business is outta the way, why don't you help me treat Kozu's wounds Rukia?" Kukaku said with a nod.

"Yes." Rukia nodded back and the two began to work.

A/N: End of chapter two. I was surprised at how long this chapter turned out, especially considering it's like all dialog. Anyways, you can sort of see the direction I'm taking the pairing here. Really, it's kinda difficult to push these two together. It's the second chapter and were still very light on the yuri subtext. Something is really going to have to happen in the next two chapters to move this thing along. Anyways, I hope all this dialog wasn't too boring. Kukaku's kinda difficult to write, you see so little of her in the anime, that it's kinda more difficult to keep her completely in character. I hope I did alright with that. Anyways hope you continue to read.

Now then, as is customary by now, allow me to discourse on my poll. 25 people voted. Roughly half of them (12) love Yoruichi X Soi Fon.. To me that seems low. All of you should have voted for that pairing since it is the best pairing ever. Aside from that pairing, elsewhere it seems you all worship Yoruichi as well, since both the other pairings I mentioned of hers were top vote getters. It kinda makes me wish I was able to come up with more Yoruichi pairings. Pairing I'm surprised did so well include, Unohana X Soi Fon and Kukaku X Rangiku; the former of which while not seeming to make a lot of sense, I guess works on pairing mechanics, for some reason I could just see the two together, the latter on the other hand is a bit more a stretch as Kukaku and Rangiku have little in common save for them both possessing rather large breasts. I guess characters like Momo and Nemu really aren't too popular, I can understand with Nemu since she might have too weak a personality, but I think it's be good material for a fic. Anyways, I'm still not about to write a Yoruichi X Soi Fon fic since the idea terrifies me (I don't want to mess up a pairing I love so much), so I'll probably run another poll in a few chaptersas a sort of runoff between the top vote getters from this poll. Anyways, thanks to all who voted.


	3. Fearful Memories

A/N: Okay, let's roll this thing along. Here's more Kukaku X Rukia goodness.

Disclaimer: Kukaku Shiba is hot. (I, however do not own her, Rukia, or any other character or element of Tite Kubo's Bleach).

Rukia Kuchiki gave a faint smile as she felt the weight of Sode no Shirayuki, her zanpakuto, once more in her hands. She had returned as soon as she was able to her home in Seireitei in order to retrieve this sword. She knew this tool would prove key in her accomplishing the mission she had committed herself to.

Soon Sode no Shirayuki was tied to the girl's waist. She was ready to once more depart the Kuchiki home for Rukongai. She wore a reflective expression as she navigated toward the main entrance of the lavish estate. A familiar figure appeared before her just as she was reaching this exit.

"Leaving again, are you?" This man's voice said in a somewhat cold tone, a tone Rukia was all too accustomed with.

"Yes. There's something I must accomplish, Brother." Rukia said with a stoic expression as she looked upon the figure of her older brother, Byakuya.

"Really? As I recall, Captain Ukitake, had made the decision to suspend you from all Shinigami activities until you were deemed as having fully recovered your abilities." Byakuya wore a slight frown as he shot a distant stare at his adopted sister.

"That is correct, Brother." Rukia said in short words, cursing her fate as having had been unable to escape the house without running into this man.

"Then if it is not a shinigami's duty to which you must attend, why is it you clad yourself in your shihakusho under your robe, and wear your zanpakuto at your side?" Byakuya asked in his usual seemingly apathetic fashion.

"Where I go, I may need to defend myself, Brother." Rukia answered in a nonchalant fashion, hoping it was a satisfactory response. She was partly relieved that Byakuya had not detected her bandaged injuries as well.

"And where is it that you would be subject to such danger?" The Kuchiki head asked calmly.

"No place deserving of your concern, Brother." Rukia still chose to refrain from revealing much to the other.

"You have need of zanpakuto to defend yourself, yet you expect no concern? What foolishness is that?" Byakuya gave the slightest smirk, as he pointed out the contradiction of Rukia's words.

"I have made a pledge which I must honor." Rukia said, hoping such a statement would appeal to her brother's own sense of pride.

"Yet you seem determined to keep the details of this errand a mystery to me?" Byakuya maintained a look of detachment though Rukia could tell now her brother was honestly concerned over her.

"I'm afraid I would prefer to, Brother... Now, I ask your permission to leave." Rukia spoke in a polite way. She had been shocked to discover recently that this man truly did care for her, that discovery didn't make their conversations any less awkward.

"And you expect me to grant that permission without knowledge of where you leave to?" The 6th division captain asked coolly.

"I leave to view some fireworks, that is all." Rukia chose to finally give something out, though it was a small detail at best.

"As I am aware, no displays are scheduled within Seireitei for any near date." The Kuchiki man said serenely giving a hard glance at the other; Rukia had to wonder, if the schedule for fireworks displays in Seireitei was something her brother honestly monitored.

"That may be so." Rukia said, feeling a tinge of anger within her though she tried her best to keep a polite tone.

A silent moment passed quickly for Rukia, as Byakuya seemed to stare at her. Then suddenly the man spoke, "Very well. You may go."

Rukia couldn't help but be a little stunned. She had honestly not expected to receive her brother's permission so easily, especially _after _he had discovered that it was beyond Seireitei's walls where she planned to go. Rukia had to admit that the mind of Byakuya Kuchiki was still very much a mystery to her. Still she was grateful.

"I thank you, brother." Rukia said courteously, though part of her great surprise undoubtedly presented itself on her face.

With that Rukia found the exit, her brother watched as she closed the door behind her, offering in a faint voice the parting words, "Be careful."

---

It was once more night when Rukia returned to the Shiba home. Entering the strange house, Ganju met the shinigami woman with a suspect stare while Kukaku merely gave a soft laugh.

"So what are you doin' back here? You forget something?" Ganju asked as he studied Rukia curiously.

"No. I left only to retrieve something. I plan to stay here to help your sister the next few days." Rukia answered politely. Remembering Kukaku's words of that afternoon in regards to this man Rukia knew she still had a ways to go for redemption in his eyes.

"Help? Help with what?!" Ganju looked confused, as if he wondered what this woman could possibly help his sister with.

Kukaku answered for the girl, saying with a short chuckle, "Rukia here agreed to be my assistant for the festival tomorrow."

"I did?" Rukia said in a meek way, surprised at the revelation.

"Really, you think you can trust a complete amateur like her to help you with a show that big? You do realize how dangerous those things are, sis?" Ganju still seemed to have his suspicions.

"You moron! I think I know better than anyone how dangerous this stuff can be!" Kukaku said in a raised tone, delivering a hard blow to the top of her brother's skull. Her expression dissolved to one of content as she reassured, "And trust me, I'm not going to let her touch any thing that could potentially kill her if it goes off too quickly."

"Well alright." Ganju said reluctantly as he rubbed the bump on his head. "If you're so sure about this, sis"

"I am." Kukaku said shortly, then turning to Rukia she ordered, "Now follow me, Rukia. I'll brief you on tomorrow."

Rukia nodded as she followed Kukaku. The woman guided her down to one of the basement room. Arriving at their destination, Rukia found herself in a sort of storeroom filled with rather odd looking apparatuses. Rukia assumed they were all various sorts of pyrotechnics the other had expertly crafted.

"I half expected you not to return to us." Kukaku was first to speak, offering a soft smile to the other woman. Rukia returned it.

"I pledged I would protect you. I am not the type to back out of something I have already promised." Rukia replied in a forthright way as if there should be no question to her returning.

"It wasn't lack of pride or honor I thought might stall you but rather a certain brother of yours." Kukaku said in a warm way, maintaining a healthy grin.

"That surprises me too..." Rukia said in a more casual way, as she thought back to the meeting with Byakuya.

"What sort of excuse did you use?" Kukaku asked, displaying amusement.

"None. I'm fairly sure he understood where I was going as well. Yet still he let me leave…" Rukia said, perplexed.

"I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising. Your brother has no hatred for Rukongai or its people and he is a decent enough man." Kukaku said in a sigh, giving a reflective laugh.

"Did you know my brother well, Kukaku?" Rukia found herself compelled to ask, a sense of curiosity now about her.

"It was a common thing for the children of the five great noble families to play together. I say I was fairly well acquainted with him back then." Kukaku answered with a degree of nostalgia in her voice.

"And what was your impression of him?" Rukia asked intent for an answer.

"He was a good kid. Kind, compassionate. He had this real competitive side to him as well that he would often show to a certain feline friend we had in common." Kukaku gave a short laugh, Rukia could tell she was unearthing pleasant memories, memories probably not too dissimilar to those from her own childhood, those shared with her own friends. She smiled as Kukaku continued to talk, "Overall, I say I admired your brother quite a bit. He reminded me of my own older brother."

Rukia had been listening contently, showing no real change of expression until she heard this last claim. Suddenly her face distorted with a degree of indignation as she said in raised tone, "Excuse me?! My brother and Kaien couldn't have been more different if they tried."

Kukaku let out a definite laugh. She said in a light manner, "You'd be surprised. Byakuya once admired my brother. Not everyone is just as they appear."

"That may be so. That doesn't make it easier to place my brother and Kaien in the same thought." Rukia said with an awkward smirk.

"You really think so?" Kukaku asked still amused.

"Come to think of it, picturing him and you as friends isn't any easier." Rukia sighed loudly as she said this.

"Ha! I suppose time changes us." Kukaku widened her grin.

Rukia paused a moment before speaking again, allow silence to fall as Kukaku undoubtedly continued to think on her memories. Soon Rukia remembered the situation they were faced with. She decided there was more she needed this other to address.

"Do you think it wise to keep Ganju in the dark in regards to this threat?" Rukia posed a new question. Kukaku's expression at once became serious.

"That one's a little rash. If he learned I was being threatened there's no doubt he'd wind up doing something stupid." Kukaku answered truthfully.

"I suppose you're right. There's no reason to concern him." Rukia said with a short nod.

"A shinigami is probably more protection than necessary in the first place." Kukaku said coolly, offering a short smirk.

"Let's hope so." Rukia said with a healthy sigh.

"At least thanks to you I get an assistant for the festival tomorrow night." Kukaku gave another brief chuckle, returning to a full grin.

"What?! You mean I seriously am going to assist you with that?" Rukia was taken aback by this revelation.

"What? You don't want to?" Kukaku gave a hard laugh at the reaction.

"No, I don't mind. I just wasn't aware you were being serious about that." Rukia said still wearing a surprised expression.

"Tomorrow's one of the last big festival's of the summer here in Rukongai. What that means for me, is one of my biggest shows yet. I'd appreciate your help, or at least your company, while I work." Kukaku said in very casual manner.

"I'd be happy to help you." Rukia said simply, but with certainty. It was not out of obligation to the woman for saving her life, but more a combination of the fact that she was curious to see this other in her element and the fact that she was beginning to think of Kukaku as a friend.

"Good. Then we should get to bed so we can wake up early tomorrow and get it all set up." Kukaku said with deviousness to her smile, as if Rukia had a long day ahead of her.

"Okay." Rukia gave a short nod.

"You remember the room you were in last night, right? You can sleep there again." Kukaku informed the other.

"Good night, Kukaku." Rukia said in a gracious manner as she turned to exit the store room and find her bedding.

"Night, Rukia." Kukaku replied in a sweet voice, smiling brightly as the other walked away.

---

Rukia was awakened by Kukaku early the next morning. After a nice breakfast she was put immediately to work. The first task was to organize the fireworks, or rather to move the ones Kukaku had selected for the festival out of storage. This meant roughly three and a half hours of Rukia, Ganju and the two Shiba servants running around crazily while Kukaku barked orders at them.

After this Rukia was a little tired, but she was allowed no rest. For the next many hours Rukia aided Kukaku and the others in transporting all the selected fireworks to the location that would be Kukaku's launch site, a small hill just outside what would be the festival grounds in one of the more central Rukongai districts.

When everything was moved most of the day had already passed. Rukia had to wonder if these people always did such back-breaking work every time Kukaku was commissioned to do a fireworks show. If so she could only admire them. On their final trip to the launch site, as Ganju and the servants departed, and as Kukaku began to painstakingly survey her wares to makes sure all was accounted for, Rukia found a quick seat at the side of the hill. She took deep breaths as she tried to recover her energy.

"It's just getting dark; the show doesn't start for a couple more hours. If you want you can go and check out the festival 'till then." Kukaku commented casual, noticing the other nearby.

"It be hard for me to keep protecting you if I just went off on my own." Rukia explained in a disciplined way, still taking deeper than normal breaths. Continuing in a more somber, reflective way she added; "Besides I doubt a festival would be much fun by myself."

"Shame, I have so much work to do setting up here, or else I'd go with you." Kukaku said casually, smiling faintly to herself as she thought deeply about the course of the display that night.

"Yeah." Rukia sighed. They hadn't been friends very long but Rukia honestly did enjoy this woman's company.

Silence fell between the two women after that. Rukia figured the other wouldn't mind if she were to start a conversation but she didn't see much point to it. It was best if she allowed Kukaku her concentration. Instead Rukia turned upward, watching as the sun set in the sky.

It was a quite beautiful sunset, lush with color and warmth, perfect for gazing at while reflecting deeply on those dear to your heart. Rukia thought about these people: her brother Byakuya, seemingly cold and apathetic but always thinking of her; Renji, her childhood friend, warm and impassioned, true to the end; Ichigo, the man who had saved her life, stubborn and reckless but easily more inspiring than any she had ever met; and finally, Kaien, her lieutenant, her mentor, her first love, the man she could never have, the man who had died in her arms.

Rukia was in no mood to feel depressed. Perhaps the happiness of the people enjoying the festivities nearby had somehow been lifted into the air and taken here by the wind. Rukia didn't want sadness; she let Kaien's smiling face disappear from her mind as she turned her attentions away from the sky, back toward the woman working hard nearby.

The smile Kukaku wore was every bit as meaningful as Kaien or Ichigo's or any of the other people dear to her. What's more it was real, in front of her right then. She watched Kukaku as she worked, transfixed by that smile, and the hours flew by. Rukia was happy.

Rukia was happy and then she was scared. The change was unexpected and near instantaneous. Rukia felt a faint nudge at her lower back, and then, before she had a chance to react, a loud crack resonated through her ears. Next thing she knew she couldn't move, she couldn't speak, she couldn't do anything, her body was restricted by hundreds of paralyzing beams of light.

Kukaku had turned at once at the sound; she had a troubled expression, as she shouted out in a frantic way, "A binding kido?! Just what is going on here?!"

"Ain't no kido, Shiba. You should know what that one is." A grizzled voice resonated from the direction the attack had come. Slowly the figures of three men appeared on the hillside.

"A binding grenade. A light weight self defense weapon typically carried by members of noble families who aren't shinigami on the rare occasions they might have to visit Rukongai..." Kukaku said forcing herself to remain calm as she recognized what had occurred.

"You thought ya could 'ide from us behind that Kuchiki whore. While she ain't gonna do ya a damn bit of good like that." The man, the same vile man from the attack days ago spoke as he stared Kukaku down with venom in his eyes.

"I seem to recall kickin' you guy's asses pretty hard on my own the other day..." Kukaku's had beaming confidence in her voice.

"That may be so, but this time we came prepared. Besides providin' a perfect avenue for our message to ya, that Kozu fella had a lot of nice things for us to steal." The thug leader spoke, never dropping the animosity in his tone.

"So you're determined to get your revenge, huh? No matter what sorta toys you have, you shouldn't expect me to be an easy fight." Kukaku spoke in a cool way, wearing a hard grin on her face as she stared down the others.

"Damn right, we'll have our revenge. And you see this, woman, an explosive like this could do some good 'ol damage don't ya say." The smaller of the two lackeys spoke as he held up a small metallic sphere, that Kukaku knew as a rather high-radius explosive.

"You can't seriously be planning to throw something like that?! You do realize what would happen?!" Kukaku's eyes lit up with fear.

"I'd say with all them fireworks and all the stuff we got on us, there'd be a blast so big it'd level this whole 'ill and everythin' 'round it." The evil man said with a crazed look in his eyes as he rubbed the bandaged end of his right arm.

"You guys are suicidal then?! You're willing to die for this?!" Kukaku now seemed visibly scared.

"Ha. That's right, Shiba. In case ya 'aven't guessed it already, life 'asn't been exactly kind to the lot of us. As I see it, maybe dyin' wouldn't be too bad. I'd be 'appy to 'ave this be my final act in this world. Just imagine the pretty little light show all them nice folks at that festival will be seein' when them fireworks all go off at once." The thug boss, had just seemed a disgusting creep to Rukia the other day, now he had the look of a genuine madman.

"Dyin'?! What do you mean dyin', Boss? I ain't ready to die yet!" The bigger lackey seemed to take the news of his apparently imminent death as a revelation.

"Shut up, ya idiut! You ain't got no reason to live either, and that's for damn sure!" the boss scolded his subordinate in a forceful tone causing the much bigger man to back down.

"You guys are crazy! You'd give up your own lives just to kill me!" Kukaku was something Rukia had never seen her before, nervous.

"I think yer forgettin' someone else who'd die 'ere." The leader said with a short laugh as he turned his gaze to Rukia's bound form. Kukaku gave a hard gasp as she remembered it was not just her own life she was bargaining with here.

"What exactly do you want to do to me?" Kukaku spoke with a sad reluctance as she stepped toward the three men.

"Just show you a little payback for what you did to us..." The man replied in a bitter voice as he smiled at the woman's new found complacency.

Kukaku didn't say a word, she merely offered a somber expression that seemed to tell that she would show no resistance. Rukia felt intolerably angry as she watched the scene, she desperately fought her binding.

It started with the big man delivering one of his massive fists hard into Kukaku's stomach. This was followed by a second punch from the smaller man, this one to the side of Kukaku's head. Soon the Shiba woman was weak and on the floor. It didn't stop there however, the thug leader decided next to embarrass the woman, spreading her legs wide apart as he ripped at the fabric of her shirt, causing her breasts to spill out into the open.

"My, my, Shiba. If you'd a taken better care to keep yerself pretty, you'd a made one helluva woman." The repulsing man said with a twisted laugh as he stared at the beaten woman.

"Thanks, glad my natural beauty isn't going unappreciated." Kukaku said in a smug, sarcastic, way, as if to tell them they weren't going to make her cry with tricks like this.

"You bitch! 'Ow dare you show attitude like that! I was gonna 'ave a little more fun with you, but I think now I'm gonna cut straight to the good part." The man seemed downright infuriated by Kukaku's remark, or more so by her confidence, and refusal to fully submit. He reached out and grabbed her single arm by the wrist, holding it tautly.

The boss gave a nod to the smaller of his lackeys. That man seemed to understand the command, walking over at once, and taking over the duty of holding Kukaku's wrist still. His hand free, the thug boss then drew from his pocket his knife, the same one he had wielded the other night.

"You took my 'and as payback I'm gonna take yer arm. That way we're good and even. Just imagine yer new life as Shiba the armless whore." The man was laughing wickedly as he steadied his knife at Kukaku's arm, just under the joint for her elbow.

At the first glimmer of red blood on the steel of the knife became visible to Rukia she felt a sickness in her stomach. She wanted desperately to free herself, to stop what was happening before her. She continued to fight her binding, unable to do anything, not even call out. Didn't Kukaku realize this was stupid, that this wasn't worth it? She stared at the woman there, guilt and sadness in her eyes, hoping that Kukaku would come to realize she shouldn't just sit there.

Kukaku and Rukia's eyes did connect momentarily, and apparently the message was received. The next thing Rukia knew Kukaku had forced her arm from the lackeys grip, and with immeasurable force delivered her fist hard into the thug leader's crotch, causing him to reel back in pain and drop his knife. Then in a flash, Kukaku proceeded to get to her feet, delivering a forceful kick to the smaller man's head, and a follow up of a series of hard punches to the large man's stomach. Shortly all three men had backed a distance from her.

When the thug leader next looked up at the Shiba woman there was an untamed anger in his eyes. With pure hatred in his vile tone, he shouted, "Fine if this is yer choice, We all die then!"

He gave a hard nod to his younger lackey who pulled back out the explosive charge and tossed it to his boss. With out a second thought the evil man lit the powerful explosive and threw it in the direction of Kukaku's fireworks display.

A/N: A bit of a cliffhanger there, but I'm sure you can all sort of predict what happens next. I like this chapter. It was fun to write. Writing a dialog between Byakuya and Rukia certainly is a lot more difficult then I would have figured. I think I did alright with that scene though. I like the dialog in the first Kukaku-Rukia exchange, though it did bring something to my attention: shinigami ages confuse me. I mean, according to anime cannon Kukaku is roughly the same age as Uruhara and Yoruichi, and of course Yoruichi is known to be older than Byakuya (though we don't know how much older), and of course Kaien is older than Kukaku, I know that much, but I really have no way of knowing how much older Kaien is than Byakuya. Just made for a lot of guesswork. I find it interesting that it's chapter three and the Kukaku X Rukia relationship hasn't progressed beyond subtext. I think I'm becoming more subtle or something. Either that or it's just the characters in this pairing not being the type to immediately develop strong open feelings like that. Either way, as it is now, it looks like a very busy fourth chapter.

On to the poll. Let me explain, I'm just starting school again, and yet again have another light schedule (made even lighter by the fact that one of my classes got canceled at the last second), as such I have a lot of free time to write this semester, and yet again was planning to keep two fics going most the way through. My idea to help this problem was to do something I've never done before and actually write a longer fic (something 15 chapters). One of the two ideas I came up with for this longer fic was an original character centric story. I put that poll up, perfectly expecting the idea not to be popular. 17 of you voted, 6 said they liked OC stories, 7 said they liked them but I should stay away, 3 said OC stories suck, and 1 strange person voted but said they were completely indifferent. The results actually surprised me; I was expecting the idea to be even less popular. I suppose if I actually gave any details about what the idea was, I would lose the small amount of support I have, cause this idea is a sure fire recipe for a fic no one would read (let's just say it'd be a sequel to one of my sequels...). Anyways, the basic concept for the other long fic idea is the subject of the current poll.


	4. Pleasant Memories

A/N: Alright everyone, believe it or not this chapter is going to contain sexual activity between two women (eventually), skip any part that makes you uncomfortable. Also this chapter is incredibly long.

Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach, I'd live in an igloo, but I don't.

"Tsugi no mai, hakuren!" Rukia shouted in the nick of time, holding a released Sode no Shirayuki in her hands. Her binding was broken, her continuous struggle to free herself finally having paid off. A large wave of pure ice radiated forth from her beautiful white sword stopping the explosive charge as it flew. She gave a huge sigh of relief as she realized she had spared Kukaku and herself from certain death.

"Wha?! 'Ow in the 'ell did a little whore like you break through the binding grenade?!" The demented thug leader stomped his feat as he shouted furiously.

"The kido spell infused into those grenades is just like any other binding spell. It weakens over time, and can be broken if enough energy is exerted." Rukia said with a proud smile.

It was true that it had taken a great deal of her energy to break the binding spell. That coupled with being forced to release and use her zanpakuto and the fact that she had not been at full power from the start had left Rukia with very little spiritual energy. She allowed Sode no Shirayuki to revert to its basic form.

"You Kuchiki, are dead!" The lead thug shouted fiercely as he now charged Rukia with his knife. His two lackeys followed behind.

Rukia was tired, and had almost no energy left. She did however have a sword and all the three men had between them was a single knife. There were three of them and one of her, yet if she relied on her training in the sword she knew she would be victorious.

Rukia avoided the thug boss's charge effortlessly allowing Sode no Shirayuki to leave its mark across his back as she found an opening. The large man tried to punch her, but she met his fist with her sword, following through with a deep cut across the man's chest after she had forced him back. The other thug began to attack as well, giving several swift kicks and punches which Rukia had no trouble evading. She slashed this man across his face before sending him flying with a kick to the stomach.

The three men though injured and bleeding now, all at once charged the shinigami woman once more. Rukia sighed as she continued to dodge and slash again and again. Eventually the men were so thoroughly beaten that they made no further effort to attack. All three were at their knees in pain around Rukia.

"Now do you see how futile it is? That a shinigami is more of an opponent than the likes of you can ever hope to handle?" Rukia spoke in a voice full of confidence, staring the man down with determination clear in her eyes. The shinigami sheathed her zanpakuto.

"What's this? Ya think yer done, Kuchiki? Ya think you can just let us live?" The thug boss gave a short depraved laugh at his opponent.

"Even the lives of scum like you have value. Besides I'm sure by now you've learned from your mistakes." Rukia said in a steady tone.

"What a naïve little girl you are, Kuchiki. The world don't work like ya think it does. I ain't learned shit!" The man growled spitefully in response.

"Then return and try again. Maybe next time when I kick your ass you'll get the picture." Rukia said in smug way offering a belittling smile

"'Ow dare you, ya little whore!" The man was infuriated. "I swear I'll kill the both of you someday."

"Yeah, sure. Just hurry up and get out of here. You've lost already today." Rukia said callously as if the men were a simple annoyance.

"Like 'ell!" The man shouted as he forced his bleeding frame to it's feet. He pulled his knife back out as he once more rushed forth in attack.

Rukia didn't have to move to stop this final charge. Kukaku was there to cover her this time, delivering a fierce quick kick to the man's head. He fell over unconscious at once. Kukaku bent down at once and lifted the man over her shoulder with ease.

"You heard the girl, you take this scumbag here and get out of our sight if you don't wannna feel more pain." Kukaku said with a dominant laugh as she heaved the unconscious man towards his two subordinates. The large man struggled to get hold of his boss before the two men left in shame without a word.

"Well, glad to see that's all done." Rukia gave a loud sigh as soon as the rogues had vanished from her sight.

"You know they'll probably try again." Kukaku said with an even expression. It was clear she was happy it was all over as well.

"Would killing them really have been a better option?' Rukia asked in an insistent way, as if she knew her choice was the right one.

"No, refusal to take life, even those of creeps like that is a very noble thing to do. It was admirable of you, Rukia." Kukaku gave a slight grin.

"You think so?" Rukia asked with a slight blush, not expecting the commendation.

"Compassion like that kinda reminds me of Kaien." Kukaku asserted in a warm way.

Rukia blushed a brighter red as she found herself being compared to the man she loved and idolized. She said in a shaky voice, "R-really? Is… is that s-so? Why bring up Kaien?"

"You reminded me of him during that fight." Kukaku answered in a soft voice.

"I was fighting with almost no power. I was not so amazing." Rukia said, as if the words "amazing" and "Kaien" were interchangeable.

"That's probably why it seemed so similar to me. You had a certain elegance that he lacked but watching you I noticed a lot of the basic sword strokes were the same." Kukaku explained with a hard laugh.

"Oh. Well of course that's the same. Before I trained under him I was never too good at wielding a zanpakuto. He's the one who really got me to learn all the basics." Rukia replied forthrightly.

"I suppose. But watching you was kinda like watching Kaien again." Kukaku grinned widely as she spoke these words. She added in a joking way, "Only a shorter, graceful, more feminine Kaien."

"I'd say you have a lot more in common with your brother than I do." Rukia said humbly.

"Kaien wouldn't give up like I was about to." Kukaku's voice this time hit a somber note.

Rukia didn't speak for a moment. When she did it was in a reflective slightly melancholy voice, "That's not true, Kukaku... You see, the other night, before you saved me, I was prepared to die…"

"You moron! Four people come from a whole other world to save you from death and you'd think about giving it away for nothing!" Kukaku scolded the young Kuchiki fiercely.

"I thought that maybe life hadn't been fair to those men when it had been more than fair to me. I thought maybe it was what I deserved…" Rukia said in a grim way despite a faint smile.

"And tell me, would you have thought the same way if you had been at full power and had your zanpakuto from the start?!" Kukaku maintained a level of anger as she posed a question.

"No. I would have protected myself without even thinking anything of it. Those thoughts I had that day were just me justifying my own stupidity." Rukia's mouth formed a full smile as she gave her answer.

"Glad you realize that much..." Kukaku seemed slightly surprised at Rukia's words.

"Just now, you were different than that Kukaku. You didn't just give up because you were stupid. You were scared. My life had been put in your hands and you thought to offer up your pride, your arm… your life, anything they would take all for my sake." Rukia explained in a level voice wearing a look of contentment. "That's why you shouldn't characterize what you did as 'giving up' or anything ignoble because really, it meant a lot to me."

Kukaku smiled at these words, giving a short laugh she said softly, "I'm glad you think that way Rukia but if anyone is deserving of praise here it's you. You're the one who got us through that after all."

"Just as you thought to protect my life, I wasn't about to let you die either, Kukaku. I had no other option but to fight through that binding and fight off those men." Rukia said in a warm lull.

Kukaku at this point had turned to face the distant lights of the nearby festival. She stared off into the distance before announcing, "I'm pretty sure that thanks to that little distraction my show's had a fifteen minute delay."

"Really? It's best not to keep the festival-goers waiting much longer than." Rukia laughed deeply.

"Yes." Kukaku nodded as she walked over to her pyrotechnics.

"You want me to help with anything?" Rukia asked courteously.

"No! A complete amateur like you would have no idea what she was doing, get in my way, and probably end up blowing her head off. It's best if you just sit back and leave this to the expert." Kukaku said in a very blunt manner.

"Very well…" Rukia said with a blush and a light laugh, guessing this was most likely the truth.

"Alright! Let's get this show started!" Kukaku called out excitedly as she lit a small torch. Then with energy she swung the torch across the fuse of one of the fireworks. The device propelled itself swiftly into the sky before exploding into a brightly colored display of light.

Thus the show began. Kukaku continued to work swiftly, lighting firework after firework. Her movements seemed somewhat random to Rukia as she would leap to one side and then swivel back to the other, though the amazing way the display above seemed to occur Rukia couldn't help but guess every single movement must have been precisely timed. Kukaku's movements reminded Rukia of a dance… or of a fight, Rukia didn't really know, just that watching Kukaku at work was every bit as breathtaking as watching the display overhead.

"So, Rukia, impressive, huh?" Kukaku called out to her observer before making a hard twist to light a distant firework.

"Oh yes, very! But should you really talking to me?!" Rukia responded, raising her voice so that Kukaku could hear her over the continuous explosions.

"Relax, I've been doin' this for years! A little conversation's nothing more than I can handle!" Kukaku shouted back as she continued to cause the sky to light up.

"Well, alright then!" Rukia seemed even more impressed.

Kukaku laughed. Keeping her voice raised so it could be heard she spoke, "You know Kaien loved fireworks!"

"Really? I didn't know that!" Rukia smiled as she continued to shout over the loud sounds above them.

"Yeah! Once when we were still real young, he snuck me out of the house and took me to a festival like this one! It was the first time I ever saw a display!" Rukia thought it somewhat odd that this story couldn't wait until a time when Kukaku didn't have to shout it.

"I see! So is that when you decided you wanted to do this?!" Rukia asked in a loud voice.

"Nope! I was scared that we might be recognized and worried about what might happen if our parents learned we left the house without permission! I honestly wasn't watching closely enough to be impressed!" Kukaku continued to laugh as she shouted her story while staying hard at work.

"But Kaien…?!" Rukia started already knowing pretty well what the other would say.

"It made his face light up! He watched the display entranced, and when it was over it was all he would talk about for a good two weeks!" Kukaku seemed to be invigorated as she recalled this memory.

"And that's why, when you ended up here in Rukongai you decided to do this, as a way of remembering him." Rukia said with a soft smile, this time choosing not to shout her words out.

"Yeah! That's right!" Kukaku affirmed; Rukia was a little surprised her words had been heard. "That's not a story I normally tell!"

"But you wanted me to know?! Why is that?!" Rukia shouted out these questions, curious as to their answers.

Kukaku walked over to the other and took a seat at the hill next to her, she gave her answer, "Because you loved him."

"What?! You mean Kaien? No, that's not true. He loved Miyako." Rukia said in fierce protest.

"I wasn't talking about who Kaien loved. I was only talking about you, Rukia." Kukaku offered a distant smile.

"Oh…" Rukia said shyly, looking up at the bright lights constantly exploding in the sky. After a few moments of this she turned back to the woman sitting next her deeply confused, "How is the show still going on when you're not doing anything anymore?!"

"Oh, that. The last thing I lit was a special shell I crafted with a kido spell. Those things will perpetually explode on their own for a good fifteen minutes. I brought two for today and the other one's the finale, it's got some real special effects put into it You won't want to miss it." Kukaku explained allowing the other's confusion to dissipate.

"I keep getting more and more impressed as this show goes on…" Rukia muttered shaking her head in amazement.

"Glad to hear it!" Kukaku said enthusiastically with a proud, wide grin.

"So how did you know… that I loved him?" Rukia asked, returning to the prior conversation on a whim even though she could have just as easily avoided it.

"I think most girls would react that way if they had been put in your place training under him and all. That along with the way you react to his name… and the look on your face when I saw you after he died… and when you apologized, all that made it pretty clear." Kukaku explained her reasoning.

"From the beginning I knew falling for him was meaningless, that nothing would come of it but regret, yet still I somehow couldn't help it…" Rukia said scolding herself as if even after all that happened her feeling had been inappropriate.

"I wouldn't write feelings so deep off as 'meaningless'." Kukaku said coolly.

"What good were they when they were never to be returned?" Rukai asked in a sad voice.

"But they were returned. Kaien loved you quite a bit." Kukaku said in a level manner.

"What?! How can you attack Kaien's honor like that?! He would never betray Miyako's trust him by having feelings for me!" Rukia defended her lieutenant with pride, causing the other woman to laugh aloud.

"Calm down. I said he loved you, not that he was in love with you. He may have not been interested in you romantically but that didn't change the fact that you were very special to him." Kukaku continued to laugh as she gave yet another explanation.

"You think so?" Rukia looked up with glazed eyes at the display over head.

"I'm certain of it. The way he would talk of you leaves little doubt in my mind." Kukaku said softly.

"He really talked about me so much?" Rukia was not easily convinced.

"Yes, he spoke of you so much that I always hoped for an opportunity to meet you, get to know you. And when he died I... knew, from the start I was convinced that none of it was your fault. I was never able to bring myself to blame you." Kukaku words were both sad and content at once.

"So now that you had that chance to meet me do I live up to his words?" Rukia asked offering a soft laugh, an oddity considering the subject of Kaien's death usually wrought an aching guilt and sadness in her.

"I'd say after tonight, Rukia Kuchiki is every bit the incredible shinigami Lieutenant Shiba thought she was." Kukaku said with pride, offering a full smile at the girl.

Rukia continued to watch the continuous explosions of the special pyrotechnic shell entranced. It was warming. She turned back to the woman next to her, asking in a lull, "What about you, Kukaku? Have you ever been in love with somebody?"

"Maybe. But it's not a subject I talk too much about." Kukaku said evasively.

"Oh come on, I'm curious as to the type of men who someone like you would fall for." Rukia didn't back down, she saw no reason to, after all Kukaku hadn't held anything back from her so far.

"Who's to say they're men?" Kukaku said in a shy voice, though her eyes chose to avoid the other as she stared up at the brightly lit sky with a slight blush on her face.

It took a good minute for Rukia to realize what the other was suggesting with these words. When she did have it deciphered she started with a degree of shock, "Kukaku?! You can't mean... you aren't into _that, _are you?"

"That's why I don't usually talk about it. It's also one of many reasons the Shiba clan wasn't gonna survive with me at the head." Kukaku sighed loudly.

"So you seriously… are into… other women?" Rukia said with spaced words as if she found the notion uncomfortable.

"That's right. I know something so abnormal is hard to accept, but that's just how I am." Kukaku gave a short laugh at herself as she continued to stare upwards.

These words caused Rukia to stop and think. Alternative sexuality like this was not something she had ever given much thought on. It was definitely quite foreign to the Kuchiki girl but so were a lot of things, that didn't necessarily mean they were wrong. Love was love after all. It shouldn't matter to her if Kukaku was attracted to and sought love from other women; she was still the same person Rukia had come to count as a friend.

"I don't think it's 'abnormal'. In fact I don't see any reason knowing about this that I should treat you any differently." Rukia proclaimed once her thoughts were clear.

"Glad to hear you have an open mind, Rukia, but actually to be perfectly honest with you that might be a mistake." Kukaku said in a subdued somewhat uncertain voice.

"What does that mean?" Rukia asked with slight anxiety.

"With what happened tonight, knowing this, you should probably learn to put your guard up when dealing with me…" Kukaku spoke in a gentle way, possessing clearly no guess as to where her words might lead.

"You don't mean…?!" Rukia gave a hard gasp as she let this sink in. After brief pause she spoke in a serious voice, "You're interested in me?"

"Can you blame me? You've got real attitude, you're cute, you're fun, you're easy to get along with, easy to understand… And you saved my life." Kukaku confessed in an almost defensive manner, a deep red blush ingrained on her face; she was a deeply honest person but this still looked to be quite hard for her to say aloud.

Rukia honestly didn't know what to feel. Since Kaien's death she had always tried her best to stay a distance from love. She had always assumed Renji felt something for her though she wasn't ever particularly interested, and Ichigo was so reminiscent to Kaien that he sometimes caused her guard to crumble, but romance never was something she found to be so alluring. There was something about this woman at that moment that was maybe starting to make that perception change.

But Rukia had to remind herself she wasn't like that. Kukaku was a woman, and Rukia Kuchiki liked guys… But then again she had never really thought about girls before. Actually in thinking about it, she didn't really consider men to be any more or less attractive than women. Even if they were different sorts of beauty, beauty was beauty and Kukaku Shiba was certainly beautiful.

"You're a wonderful person too, Kukaku. Strong, beautiful, compassionate, hard-working, noble, and you've saved my life as well. I really wouldn't mind loving someone like you…" Rukia said in a sweet voice, smiling warmly.

"Don't be stupid! I may have these feelings but there's no reason you can't ignore them. You're better off not falling in with a wash-up like me." Kukaku said with force as if it was a command.

"If you wanted me just to ignore you, what reason would you have had to tell me everything in the first place?" Rukia said in a somewhat grim, serious way.

"Thinking you face certain death and surviving has a way of making you do some stupid things. I guess I just didn't feel like hiding anything tonight." Kukaku said reflectively turning her eyes upward; her special fireworks were still exploding continuously.

"There's nothing stupid about it. I find it quite… romantic, actually." Rukia fought in a low tone.

"Stop trying to humor me or else I might accidentally believe you. I need to realize you couldn't possible be interested in me." Kukaku said in a melancholy voice, a serious look on her face as she stared upwards.

"How's this for interested?" Rukia said, then getting to her knees she bent her head forward, joining her lips to Kukaku's in a gentle, romantic kiss.

Rukia had little experience kissing people before so she felt a great deal of anxiety and excitement as she kissed Kukaku for the first time. It felt somewhat wrong to her yet at the same time it felt kind of very nice, if only because her and Kukaku seemed to connect. She was smiling as Kukaku broke the kiss.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kukaku asked shyly a light blush on her cheeks.

"Kissing you." Rukia replied simply, with a cute laugh.

"Why?!" Kukaku still didn't seem to pick up on the other's eagerness.

"Because you said I could never be interested in you, when I am _very_ interested." Rukia said, actually taking a slightly playful tone.

"I doubt it. As I see it that little kiss was nothing more than one of three things: you being the nice girl and wanting to make me happy, you being the dutiful girl and thinking you owe it to me after saving you the other day and near sacrificing myself for you tonight, or you being the stupid girl and just recklessly jumping into things without realizing how big a mistake they are." Kukaku said in a forthright way, shaking her head at the other.

"If any it's the third. But I seriously doubt loving you would be something I consider a mistake." Rukia said with a laugh, Kukaku's expression didn't change.

"And you think a little kiss like that is all it takes for me to believe your really serious about that?" Kukaku asked, lightening her tone and giving her own laugh.

"Well how's this one for convincing then?" Rukia returned the laugh with her own deep, sexy laugh before bending forward to kiss Kukaku again.

This kiss was different than the first though, for immediately following it's start Kukaku had been pushed to her back on the hill by Rukia. The shinigami had passion in her eyes as she pried the other woman's mouth open with her tongue. Kukaku seemed surprised at this development but her eyes seemed to light up with delight as she began to move her tongue hotly against Rukia's

Rukia in the past had never been a really sexual person, but this kiss was perhaps beginning to change that. She found herself intrigued, excited. It no longer felt wrong but instead piqued a sort of curiosity in the young Kuchiki. Each time her tongue ran its course over Kukaku's own, every time she entered deep into Kukaku's mouth and every time Kukaku's tongue found its way inside of hers that curiosity grew. Soon Rukia found herself wanting to explore more and more different things with Kukaku,

Their lips pressed warmly against each other for a while longer. Their mouths then split but their tongue lingered awhile to run against one another with passion. When they finally pulled completely away from one another both women wore a bright smile.

"I guess you really are serious about this." Kukaku acquiesced in an excited tone, sitting up once more.

"I told you." Rukia cooed.

"Now I guess the only question is how far we take this tonight." Kukaku said as she wrapped her arm around Rukia and brought the girl's head to her shoulder.

"Why don't we start again and just see how far it takes us?" Rukia suggested with a embarrassed laugh, being sexual was still somewhat strange for her.

"Alright, but this time I start." Kukaku said with a smile. Rukia nodded, and then it was she who this time found herself pushed against the hillside.

Kukaku began with another brief but intense kiss to the mouth before trailing down to line similar kisses to Rukia's cheek, ear, and neck, causing the Kuchiki to blush. Kukaku let her hand move to caress Rukia's body through her clothing as she continued to dazzle Rukia with kisses. Eventually Kukaku's hand slipped through the front of Rukia's shihakusho, allowing the Kuchiki girl to fell Kukaku's touch directly.

Kukaku backed off for a moment, excitement in her eyes she reached forward grabbing the sash of Rukia's kimono untying it promptly. When this was accomplished the garb was thrown open and Rukia slipped her arms out of it casually. Standing briefly she took the opportunity to completely remove her shinigami uniform, leaving the panties she wore as the only shred of cloth on her as she rejoined Kukaku on the ground.

Kukaku smirked as she gazed at Rukia's lithe figure, climbing over the other girl she said in a playful voice, "You really have a cute body Rukia, This is gonna be fun."

Rukia didn't speak, she just stared up at the girl above her. Behind Kukaku she could see the fireworks still exploding in the sky above them, they made the woman's face light up. Rukia leaned forward to place a soft kiss on Kukaku's lips as she forced the woman's hand to her chest.

Kukaku's chose to escalate the kiss with use of tongue as she began to massage Rukia's smallish breast with her hand. The sensation of Kukaku's touch caused Rukia to kiss harder. Then the kiss broke. Kukaku moved to trail kisses once more down Rukia's neck. The trail continued downward until Kukaku's kisses met with one of Rukia's excited nipples. She rolled her tongue gently around the hardened pink flesh before sucking it into her mouth.

Kukaku let her hand find it's way between Rukia's legs where she began to gently caress the inside of one of the Kuchiki's thighs. Rukia sighed with pleasure as she felt Kukaku's touch at her breast and thigh. Shyly she began to do her own exploring of the other woman. Her hands gravitated toward the woman's hips then trailed across her entire back before heading finally for Kukaku's impressive bust.

Rukia was awed by the softness she felt at Kukaku's breast. She began to squeeze and fondle them quite intently, staring transfixed into Kukaku's cleavage. Eventually finding herself unable to restrains herself any longer she let her hands slip through the front of the shirt and she began to massage the large fleshy mounds directly, further awed by the incredible smoothness of Kukaku's skin.

Kukaku offered a final few licks at Rukia's nipple before pulling away with a satisfied smile. She gave a soft laugh at the engaged look on the other woman's face before deciding to remove her shirt altogether, freeing her massive chest with a healthy bounce. Rukia's eyes lit up as her hands moved back to pillowy flesh as if they were drawn there by some force beyond her control.

"You really like them, don't you?" Kukaku asked punctuated by a short, cute moan as she felt Rukia play her breasts expertly.

"Yes. They're very beautiful. I always thought I was jealous of women with large breasts but in reality it looks like it's just something I find physically attractive." Rukia said in an oddly nonchalant voice as she smiled and inched a bit downward, closer to Kukaku.

"That's a good sign. I happen to think your's are pretty cute too though." Kukaku laughed cutely as she moved slightly forward.

"T-Thank you..." Rukia said with a shy blush, truly happy to receive the compliment.

"Here, if you want, you can enjoy them some more." Kukaku said leaning even more toward Rukia so as her breasts were hovering just above the shinigami's face.

Rukia didn't speak, instead she immediately let out her tongue, using it to guide one of the busty woman's pert nipples into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around Kukaku forcing them closer. One of Kukaku's legs found itself between Rukia's and began to pressure Rukia's sex lightly. Rukia suckled the other woman's breast hard, one of her hands moving to cup and massage the other ample mound forcefully. Rukia broke her suck to instead lavish Kukaku's chest with broad licks to either nipple as well as the side and underside of either breast and in between them. When Rukia's appetite had been appeased, near all of Kukaku's bust was left damp with her saliva.

Kukaku offered a deep tongue kiss, before moving down to pick up where she had last left off, placing short kisses at either of Rukia's attentive nipples. She moved across Rukia's stomach with a wide lick then pulled back to gaze at the woman's smooth thighs. Rukia without a word let her hand find the hem of her panties and hastily removed them and tossed them aside. She spread her legs eagerly for Kukaku's allowing the other to see every detail of her most private areas.

"Beautiful.." Kukaku murmured softly as she extended her fingers and lined them slowly across the lips of Rukia's sensitive slit, glistening with warm fluid.

Kukaku bent forward excitedly, allowing her tongue to immediately dart through the other woman's sex without a degree of hesitation. Rukia kicked with pleasure as she felt the woman's tongue touch hotly on her engorged clit. The feelings were incredible, every lightening placed lick seemed to cause such intense pleasure in the shinigami girl that she found it overwhelming. Her gaze drifted upward as she felt Kukaku's tongue penetrate deep inside her causing more and more wetness to spill out of her with each new movement. The light show in the sky still continued, making every moment feel like a dramatic perfection.

"It's so amazing." Rukia half said half moaned as she felt warm tongue hot against her inner walls.

"Great to hear it... I'm enjoying you too... You have such a wonderful sweet taste.. Rukia." Kukaku replied, her words parsed by lustful licks to the other woman's sexual core.

Kukaku licked her a few more times and then something changed. Suddenly though still feeling wonderful, everything felt slightly less intense. Rukia spent a good moment trying to figure it out before finally seeing the obvious conclusion. In a soft voice she informed, "The fireworks stopped..."

"You're right." Kukaku sighed as she reluctantly pulled her mouth from between Rukia's legs.

"I'm sure the people at the festival want to see their finale." Rukia said in a meek voice as if waiting for Kukaku to touch her again was already maddening.

"I better hurry then cause I know someone else who's probably desperate to see _her_ finale."Kukaku said with a sexy smirk as she forced herself to her feet.

"That right." Rukia replied with a faint smile as the other woman left her for the fireworks display. Kukaku quickly fired off the second and final kido infused firework shell and soon the sky above them was once more alive with color.

Kukaku made the trip back to Rukia slowly, as if she was trying to tease the girl in her waiting. Finally nearing the Kuchiki girl she crouched back down between the girl's still spread legs, saying with a sensual smile, "Now where were we?"

Rukia chose not to answer verbally, instead she lifted her lower body upward, wrapping her legs around the other's shoulders and thrusting her sex forward. Kukaku seemed a little taken aback at Rukia's overtly sexual naughtiness, but likely quite aroused by it all decided not to delay things any further, delving her tongue deep inside the shinigami girl yet again.

Kukaku's tongue worked it's magic expertly on Rukia's most sensitive spots for a while longer. Then Kukaku abruptly withdrew to replace that tongue with two of her fingers. Soon she was thrusting the girl with clear rhythm. Rukia felt for the first time as Kukaku stimulated bits of her her tongue had been unable to reach as the fingers penetrated deeper and deeper inside her.

Looking up Rukia noticed for the first time the magical effects of the new fireworks shell. The explosions of this finale were all different, irregular yet they seemed to meld together into a perfect display, each one having a place, building upon the last. Soon she began to feel as if every time Kukaku thrust into her there was a corresponding explosion over head; it made her feel as if she was watching a visualization of what Kukaku was making her feel. It was all making her heart beat fast, her breathing hard, her head race, her juices spray all over Kukaku's hand. The pleasure was so intense it felt almost surreal. Rukia felt an incredible overtake her as her body shook with the most powerful of orgasms.

Rukia lied back, collapsed, panting to restore lost breaths. She still could hear the sounds of explosions above her and that sound soon revived her. She sat up, and still gasping for air, declared, "I've never felt this amazing before."

"Glad you appreciate my talent, Rukia." Kukaku smiled lovingly, licking Rukia's juices from her fingers and her lips.

"Now, it's my turn to show you some fireworks, Kukaku." Rukia said in a sensually sly fashion, offering a wicked smile, as she wrapped her arms around the other and kissed her deeply on the mouth. She found she enjoyed the way she tasted off of Kukaku's tongue.

When they broke, Kukaku smiled and stared in the other girl's eyes, she said, "I'd like that, Rukia."

Rukia gave Kukaku another brief kiss before running her hands down the woman's exquisite figure. Her hands found themselves delayed once more at Kukaku's breasts which were played with at lengths before Rukia finally allowed her hand to reach the pants Kukaku still wore. With Kukaku's aid they were quickly removed along with Kukaku's underwear. Rukia could only marvel at the woman's shapely bare legs and the beautiful pink sex organ between them.

Rukia went in for another kiss to Kukaku's lips, and returned once more for a suck at either of her delicious ample breasts before venturing off for this new newly uncovered territory. She supposed she had the right to be anxious about this part, but considering how much she had adored every other moment of the evening thus far she guessed it would be alright for her.

Rukia let her hand find it's way to the outside of Kukaku's thigh. Responding to this touch Kukaku spread her legs wide, positioning the shinigami squarely between them. Rukia bent forward with little hesitation, bringing her mouth straight to Kukaku's cute, pink slit. Her first lick was somewhat shy and reserves, just enough to determine how much she would like it. Her second lick was much the opposite, full, hard, intense, complete. Most after that were so quick and sporadic it was hard to differentiate one from the other.

As she felt Kukaku's fluid begin to pool on her tongue, Rukia couldn't help but admit to herself she absolutely loved this. Everything about it was exhilarating, the gentle aroma, the sweet subtle taste, the incredibly smooth slick texture on her tongue, the dirty sound it made when she ran her tongue forcefully through the folds of delicate pink slit. Remembering how she had felt when Kukaku had done this to her, Rukia also found it breathtaking that she might be showing Kukaku pleasure equivalent to that she had seen. The soft, low moans Kukaku gave out continuously supported this notion.

Never allowing her tongue to rest, Rukia slowly guided her hands back up to cup Kukaku's breasts. She squeezed them roughly as she excitedly ravaged the woman's sexual core. Kukaku's hand came to rest atop one of her arms, holding it in place rigidly. In fact, soon Kukaku who had before been moaning and writhing wildly seemed to tense all her movements as if she was bracing for something. That along with the intensity of her moans confirmed to Rukia that the other woman was nearing her eventual release. Deeply excited at the notion of pushing Kukaku over her edge, Rukia picked up the pace of her tongue, darting it swift and hard against Kukaku's pulsing clit until the woman shouted out in pleasure, reaching a massive climax.

Rukia at once crawled over the other, laying atop her so as their bodies had contact and she could feel the soft warmth of Kukaku's chest on her flesh. She smiled as she pushed her head in for another kiss, this one soft and sweet, Kukaku's hand running across Rukia's cheek and through her hair as they gazed breathlessly at one another for awhile.

Eventually Rukia rolled off of Kukaku and back down onto the grassy hill. Staring once more up at the sky she noticed the fireworks had stopped. She had no recollection of when exactly it had stopped, she had been quite occupied, and focused. She supposed she had missed the surely climactic ending to the stellar show even if the show and the ending she did get were probably more interesting anyways. Staring lovingly at the beautiful woman lying next to her, smiling, Rukia figured it wasn't anything to regret, after all this was now going to be far from the final fireworks display she would get to see.

A/N: Gah! What the hell, why did this chapter have to be so damn long. Okay, I knew it was gonna be long when I started, there was just so much great dialog I wanted to include and then I had to put in the whole sex scene and I had to somehow conclude the action scene at the beginning. I suppose the action at the beginning wasn't too great. The nameless street thugs seemed so menacing in the last chapter but here I have them running away scared and defeated. What I really love about this chapter is all the Rukia X Kukaku dialog, I might be wrong but I think I took the pairing from lightly implied subtext to hot lesbian sex all through one long conversation. Lot's of fun stuff there. As for the sex itself, probably wasn't my best scene, but then again I say it was still pretty sexy. I love Kukaku even if writing her in a sex scene is a little bit more difficult. I thought having fireworks going off in the background for the whole scene would be romantic and a cute touch, I don't know. The fifth chapter should be fun and cute but not substantial.

That being said let me talk about my poll and more so my plans for the future. In the last poll I asked your thoughts on crossover fics, meaning fics taking characters from more than one series. Unlike the OC fics, crossovers actually got a great deal of support. Out of 21 voters 13 of you say you like them 2 say you like them but I shouldn't do one, three say crossovers are bad ideas and three voted in the poll even though they have no opinion in regards to the question. So basically you guys like crossovers better than OC stuff. I'm not really surprised. The again these polls really didn't convince me which of either of these fics I should try writing since none of you know what the ideas are yet. That said I have decided to tell some basic details about these two ideas for longer fics.

OC story idea – Set in the Naruto universe. Rough sequel to my second Ino X Temari fic The Shadows of Darkness and the Power of True Love set 16 years after that story. Mainly would focus on the misadventures of Ino and Temari's daughter's Inoko and Yuzuki, who are conceived at the end of the Shadows (Though Inoko and Yuzuki would likely not be paired with each other as that would lead to a plot too similar to the fic of someone else who's probably reading this), and other children conceived through mostly crack Naruto pairings. It would be light, fun, humorous, but it would not be necessarily as stupid and random as it's predecessor, and would actually try at times to be serious and keep a fairly straight forward followable plot. There would be lots pf yuri, and I would have a lot of freedom with the sex scenes.

Crossover Story – crossover featuring characters from Bleach and Death Note, though set primarily in the Death Note universe. Basic plot would involve several shinigami from Bleach's Soul Society finding themselves suddenly transported to an alternate shinigami realm (Death Note's shinigami realm, obviously) Finding their way into the human world of Death Note this group of shinigami starts to change things for better or worse. The main pairing would be Misa Amane X Momo Hinamori. It would be a fairly dark, bleak fic, filled with lots of character deaths and stuff (though Misa will probably lighten it up a tad). Unfortunately the fic would be set after the end of Death Note so it would contain massive spoilers for those of you who haven't seen the series all the way through yet.

So those are the basic ideas. Really neither one of them is exactly ideal. The first one I doubt anyone would read and the second I'm almost too scared to write since it contains such heavy spoilers (and I think some of you might not like how it unfolds). So if you feel strongly about either of these ideas, if you want to to see one get written send me a message or something, I'd appreciate the advice. I'm not gonna run a poll on it though, since I need the poll to ask you guys which Bleach pairing I'm writing next, as I need time to think of something before I'm expected to write it. So yeah, vote for that.


	5. Lasting Memories

A/N: Final chapter. Really nothing but an uneventful conclusion to round things out. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I've decided to not remind you all that I do not own Bleach this chapter.

Rukia Kuchiki let out a soft yawn as she awoke from a night filled with the sweetest dreams. Sitting up slightly in the bed where she had slept she felt her eyes wander immediately to the figure of the woman still sleeping nearby in the same bed. She gave a wide smile as she remembered the events of the previous night.

Kukaku looked so cute sleeping there. She was softly snoring; a line of drool trailed out of her half-cocked smile. What's more here side of the bed covers had been roughly tossed aside leaving every curve of her exceptional figure in perfect view of Rukia's lustful stare. Rukia couldn't help but feel warmth in her heart when she remembered this woman was now her lover.

With a subdued laugh to herself Rukia bent her head forward over the still sleeping Kukaku, smiling as she did so. She placed a series of short kisses at Kukaku's ear as she began to gently line the Shiba woman's back with a caress of her hand. These sensations caused Kukaku to awaken violently, startled by what was happening, sitting up at once and causing Rukia to almost lose her balance. The Kuchiki merely gave another laugh at this reaction and then without a word let her lips find Kukaku's before the other had time to make sense of what was happening.

Kukaku's eyes seemed to lose all surprise or confusion at once as she stared into those of the girl kissing her, the memories of the previous night surely returning to her. When Rukia removed her lips the Shiba spoke in a soft coo, "Good morning, Rukia, you sleep well."

"Oh yes. Believe me after all the _exertion_ I had yesterday, that was some of the best sleep of my life." Rukia said in a sly tone that seemed to suggest she was more talking about the night she spent with Kukaku rather than the day of physical labor or the battle of the evening.

"You said it; I'm sure I couldn't have slept much harder than that. With how busy a day yesterday was it probably was a mistake to go for a second round when we got back home last night." Kukaku gave a rough laugh as she yawned and scratched the back of her head.

"You should probably come to expect busy nights so long as you keep me around." Rukia said in a playful way, smirking softly.

"That's relieving to hear. Looks like this isn't going to prove to be some sort of fireworks induced dream, too good to be true." Kukaku gave a sigh as she stared at her lover affectionately.

"Of course not! I really love you, you know." Rukia said hurriedly, not looking directly at Kukaku as she spoke. It was the first time she had ever used these words and honestly they made her a little nervous.

"Wow, I'm certainly lucky. All it took was a few days together, a couple near-death experiences and a single night of fun and you're willing to devote yourself to me…" Kukaku grin was inhumanly wide, her eyes focused intently on the face of the girl who had just confessed to her.

"Well aren't you the same?" Rukia asked shyly, a blush on her face, her eyes still averted. She didn't like showing such vulnerability, but Kukaku at least deserved to see it.

"I suppose. I mean I've had incredible sex with cute girls in the past and forgot about it entirely after a week or so. Something tells me that you're going to be different than that though, that you're someone I can actually say 'I love you' to, Rukia." Kukaku spoke reflectively, her smile never vanishing.

"Then say it!" Rukia commanded, she thought she deserved a full out proclamation of love.

"I sorta already did…" Kukaku laughed warmly at the other's cute behavior.

"That wasn't good enough." Rukia said simply, steadfastly.

"And your little half-mumbled confession was?" Kukaku seemed deeply amused as she asked this. When her only response was Rukia glaring at her, Kukaku decided to acquiesce to the other's demands, saying with a pure certainty in her voice, "I love you, Rukia."

Rukia smiled at hearing these words. Happily she let her lips find Kukaku's once more, the two women kissed lovingly for several moments as they embraced each other warmly. Rukia had never felt so wonderful

Then Rukia decided to let her eyes search out a clock. Finding one in the corner of Kukaku's bedroom she read the time; she was alarmed to discover it was already past noon. Slowly she let the kisses break off.

"It seems we really slept late. I bet your brother's probably worried." Rukia sighed intently, staring still at the clock so as Kukaku would follow the gaze.

Kukaku gave her own deep disappointed sigh, she spoke similarly, "And I was having fun there. You're saying we should actually try and get out of bed now?"

"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time to kiss each other tonight." Rukia said in a loving way as she stood up and pulled her and Kukaku's assorted clothing off the floor.

"I suppose I got something to look forward to." Kukaku laughed as she too got to her feet and began to dress herself. Giving a loving stare at the other girl she added romantically, "Then again, I suppose I'll always have something to look forward to, now."

"You know, I won't always be there for you. There are duties I can't neglect." Rukia said somberly, slipping into her undergarments.

"I know. I'm a surprisingly patient woman. So long as you visit me as often as you can, I don't really mind periods of waiting." Kukaku said in an understanding way, she too continued to put on her clothing.

"That's a relief." Rukia let out a sigh as she slowly slipped into her shihakusho.

Both women went silent as they finished dressing. It was then that a sound came to the new lovers' ears from the house above. It was the sound of a loud voice, shouting, "Hey you! What the hell do you think you're doing?! You can't just barge into someone else's home without permission! Hey listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

It was easy to place this voice as Kukaku's younger brother Ganju, still Rukia thought all the shouting was odd, and she wondered what might be happening. Ganju continued to shout angrily "Look you bastard, where in the hell do you think you're headed?! Aren't you guys supposed to be more respectful than this?! Not to mention you got nerve showing' up here in the fist place after what you put me through!"

There was something said briefly by another voice though unlike Ganju's this voice was much to quiet to hear properly from where Kukaku and Rukia were. Ganju soon responded, a little less angry this time, "Oh, her. Well she was here the last couple days, but she left last night. All the guest rooms are empty. The only one still sleeping down there is sis, and she worked hard last night and doesn't need your interruptions."

Rukia continued to listen to what was going on over head as she now hastily dressed herself. Ganju shouted once more, this time much closer, "Look, I told you, she isn't down here. You're wasting your time, and all your gonna get is my sister pissed off if you go in there."

Soon the door to Kukaku's bedroom was opening. Rukia threw herself on the bed and made manic effort to look like she was doing something constructive. Kukaku sat back down on the bed as well, offering an apologetic smile already in the direction of the door. In that door soon appeared both the figures of Ganju Shiba and Byakuya Kuchiki.

"Look, brother, I-I can explain. This isn't what it looks like. Me and Kukaku… we were… we were just talking…." Rukia said in a frantic fashion as her eyes found her brother's cold expression.

"If that is so, then why is the sash of your shihakusho untied and at the foot of the bed?" The Kuchiki head asked in obvious disbelief.

Rukia had in truth overlooked her sash when she was dressing herself; not noticing it was misplaced until after the door had already began to open. Sheepishly she admitted, "Well maybe… it is… what it looks like then…but brother, please understand… this is important to me."

"No. Tell me you didn't, sis. Not with her… you couldn't have…" Ganju spoke now, in deep shock as it all set in.

"That's right, Ganju." Kukaku gave a soft laugh as she spoke in a light tone, none of this hid the fact that she was blushing just as intently as Rukia was.

"How could you sleep with the shinigami who killed our brother?!" Ganju shouted out in indignation.

"You've heard the story from Rukia and everyone else involved. Aside from just wanting someone to blame, I have no idea why you refuse to accept that it wasn't her fault." Kukaku said in a realistic tone, offering her brother a healthy glare.

"Well, okay, but forgiving her's one thing, going this far is a completely different story." Ganju still didn't seem too thrilled with the idea.

"Well I don't really care if you like it or not, because either way you've got to deal with it from now on!" Kukaku said in a raised voice, Ganju seemed to back down at once. Kukaku then asked, "Now why don't you leave us, so we can converse with our guest here."

"Uh, alright. If that's what you want, sis." Ganju said grudgingly, still dissatisfied as he complied, walking back out the door.

"Now then… Byakuya… It's certainly been a long time…" Kukaku approached conversation with the Kuchiki man with obvious difficulty.

"Kukaku Shiba." Byakuya said without expression, acknowledging the other.

"I suppose this whole scene comes as a bit of a shock to you. You probably aren't too happy with it... or with me…or with your sister." Kukaku spoke in a even tone through gritted teeth.

"I expected this would happen." Byakuya responded as callously as ever, never altering his inflection.

Kukaku stared back in shock as she heard this response. Rukia was even more confused, questioning her brother still frantically, "Wait. What?! What do you mean you expected this, brother? I didn't even expect it until it happened. And… wait a minute… how did you know I was here in the first place?"

"You're words to me concealed less than you thought. Knowing the history of this woman and your own history with her family I knew at once this was your destination, and in your failure to return yesterday and again this morning I knew you must be here still." Byakuya explained apathetically, both Rukia and Kukaku seemed to find his attitude awkward.

"Okay, I suppose there aren't many places I could have gone with fireworks, but seriously brother, you couldn't have actually expected me and Kukaku would… would… would end up… romantically together..." Rukia argued, finding it difficult to express her and Kukaku's relationship in terms that were appropriate.

"Oh, and why not? In my memories of when I was younger I seem to recall this woman and her persistent attempts at courting the other girls. Her astonishing success rate was a real cause for alarm within the noble families." Rukia was impressed that her brother was able to say even this without so much as smirking or altering his tone; his words caused a deep red blush to form on Kukaku's face.

"Hey! Don't give Rukia the wrong ideas. I was young back then and there weren't _that_ many girls and none of them were ever really important to me and they never lead anywhere. Out of all those broken relationships all I got was a few nice memories and a lasting friendship with a certain daughter of the Shihoin family. I wasn't so bad…" Kukaku continued to feel largely embarrassed as she attempted to defend herself.

"Calm down. I don't care about who you've been with in the past. None of that matters…. Though I suppose now that I know you have this reputation, Kukaku I have to wonder, if winning me wasn't your intention since the moment you saved me the other night…" Rukia spoke in a methodical way, looking at Kukaku searchingly.

"It wasn't my motive for saving you, but I'd certainly say it was a motive for letting you stay around the last couple days.' Kukaku gave a soft smirk as she said this; Rukia gave a short laugh in response.

"So, brother, are you going to scold me for this improper contact and attempt to dissuade me from seeing her?" Rukia asked expectantly.

"No. Of course not." Byakuya said with his usual cool.

"But is this relationship not something wholly inappropriate of someone of my standing? Isn't this something that could shame the Kuchiki clan?" Rukia seemed as if she was pleading for her brother to be harsh with her, as if that was the only way things would seem normal to her.

"Possibly. But it is not my place to get in the way of matters such as this." Byakuya's even frown broke for a split second to show very slight smirk as he said this.

"Well alright then…" Rukia said in an uncomfortable manner.

"I suppose you would prefer to remain here rather than return." Byakuya said with a cold stare.

"Yeah. If you don't mind, brother." Rukia said, for once taking the polite tone she typically did with Byakuya.

"Very well. I suppose I shall depart." Byakuya said coolly.

"You could stay a little longer if you want, Byakuya. There's plenty of food upstairs." Kukaku offered courteously, herself too settling down.

"I apologize but I must refuse. I have matters to which I must attend." Byakuya responded in a calm sense, Rukia couldn't help but notice a look of relief on her lover's face in hearing the refusal. With that Byakuya turned to walk out the door.

There was a brief silence before Rukia spoke once more, blushing and near speechless, "Why is it that when I saw my brother I got the feeling I was about to be forcefully ripped away from you?"

"I thought the same things. I'm honestly quite surprised that he didn't say anything at all about it and even went so far as to let you stay here with me." Kukaku showed signs of deep astonishment.

"I suppose maybe some of that Kaien-like man you perceived him as being when you were children still exists in there." Rukia gave a smirk as she verbalized this thought.

"The same man who married a common woman for love without regard for status." Kukaku reminded the other, who let a reflective smile form on her face.

"Yeah, I guess so... still it's somewhat unsettling to find a man as inflexible as my brother is so accepting of this." Rukia remained confused by this sentiment.

"It shouldn't surprise you, I mean you're obviously important to him. Enough to where he comes to Rukongai on a hunch and barges into someone's home without permission just to make sure you're safe." Kukaku said in a light fashion.

"But I wouldn't have expected your brother to be the one with the more negative reaction to finding us together." Rukia said in a low voice, remembering the other man's outrage.

"Eh, Ganju. That moron will come around. He'll have to eventually, because as I see it, you're gonna be a part of my life for a long while now." Kukaku said with a hard grin, she wrapped an arm around Rukia and pulled her in tightly to an embrace.

"Yes. A long time. I have a feeling my future will be filled with fireworks." Rukia said in a romantic lull as her head came to rest atop the other woman's chest.

"Couldn't have said it better. There will be plenty of both types we got to see last night." Kukaku gave a sensual laugh as she let her hand caress Rukia's cheek before softly combing through her lustrous dark hair.

"Hopefully next time, I'll be able to see the end of the display." Rukia cooed, completely at ease.

"You missed it?" Kukaku asked with subdued surprise.

"I was busy." Rukia applied with sexuality to her voice, as a sure means of reminding the other woman what had preoccupied her.

"I suppose you were." Kukaku said with a short laugh as she continued to hold the Kuchiki girl tightly in her warmth.

"I'll just have to wait for next time." Rukia said forcing a sigh.

"Somehow I doubt you'll ever see the ending if you watch it with me." Kukaku offered another healthy smile, though this one was of a more sexual nature.

"And what does that mean? Do you think I lack all self-control?" Rukia said in a more pointed, aggressive manner as she backed out of the other woman's hold.

"It isn't your self-control I'm worried about..." Kukaku said in a suggestive way before pulling the other girl close once more and this time forcing her into a passionate deep kiss.

Their tongues rolled against one another hotly while their lips pressured each other roughly. Either girl's gaze ever altered from its focus in th other's eyes. When the kiss broke off Rukia spoke, commenting in a sensual manner, "As amazing as your displays are, next to you I doubt I'm really missing much."

Kukaku gave a playful laugh and a deep smile before kissing the ons she loved one more.

A/N: Well that's the end. Sweet little final chapter there. Lots of cute Kukaku X Rukia moments. I don't know why I chose to write Byakuya in again, most likely just to round things out since I included him in the third chapter. Anyway, not a lot happened here but I think it was a satisfying end. Overall I like writing this story. The pairing was difficult. Both Rukia and Kukaku are strong characters and forcing them together was hard to manage, but I think it turned out overall pretty good. Let's hope future pairings work as well.

Speaking of the future let's talk about it briefly. I ran a poll on what my next pair should be. I found the results to be a tad bit confusing actually. Kukaku X Rangiku got one vote as did Unohana X Isane. Chizuru X Orihime got 2 votes. Tatsuki X Chizuru, and Rukia X Orihime received 3 votes. Yoruichi X Orihime received 6. Unohana X Soi Fon got the most however, receiving 10 votes. Now this rather confused me as this is not an obvious pairing, nor is it one featuring one of the character's I've noted as being exceptionally popular, and in the poll with all the pairings these selected ten choices all did within the same rough range of 9-4 (the second option Yoruichi X Orihime actually scored 2 votes higher in that poll), yet it got almost half the total votes (10/26) here. What's stranger is that 7 of these ten votes were already cast by the time I awoke the morning after posting the poll at which time none of the other choices had even a single vote. Do I think these results are legitimate, no. Do I think a single person cast multiple votes by creating multiple accounts, yes. It really kinda pisses me off that stuff like this happens. This said I decided to count the votes from the suspect choice as half, meaning I'm counting it as having received 5 votes, which means I'm going to be writing a Yoruichi X Orihime story next. It should be noted that I don't like being screwed with like this.

On an entirely different note, I've reached my decision in regards to my additional long fic. The vast majority of the support was for the crossover fic. That said, the more I thought about it, the more I felt it was an inopportune time to write a Death Note fic. With a series as great as Death Note I really don't want to run the risk of spoiling anything. Those who wanted to see that fic don't be too disappointed though, I have decided I will write it eventually, just not until the dub broadcast of the anime is further along. That decided, I came to the decision to go ahead with my OC story. Why? I don't know. It's going to fail so hard, no one's going to read it and I'll be lucky to get two people willing to review each chapter. It'll probably amount to little more than a colossal waste of time, and I could undoubtedly find something more constructive to do but I'm sure it will at least be fun. Anyways, expect the first chapter of that and the Yoruichi X Orihime fic soon.


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